High-frequency on-package voltage regulator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9787188-B2
Application number	US-201414316147-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 26, 2014
Priority date	Jun 26, 2014
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

An on-package voltage regulation system includes a platform controller hub (PCH), a driver metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (DRMOS) control unit, and a plurality of inductors coupled to an output node. The PCH receives a voltage feedback signal corresponding to an output voltage at the output node, and outputs a control signal based on a difference between the voltage feedback signal and a reference voltage. The DRMOS control unit includes a plurality of switch transistors and a DRMOS controller. The switch transistors are coupled to the output node through the plurality of inductors. The DRMOS controller includes logic to determine an output current based on the control signal from the PCH, and to determine a distribution of the output current through the plurality of inductors. Transistor drivers control the switch transistors to share the output current through the plurality of inductors based on the determined output current and distribution.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An on-package voltage regulation system, comprising:
a first semiconductor die of a package including a platform controller hub (PCH) to:
receive a voltage feedback signal corresponding to an output voltage at an output node of the on-package voltage regulation system; and
output a single control signal indicating a total output current of a plurality of current phases combined at the output node; and

a second semiconductor die of the package separate from the first semiconductor die, the second semiconductor die including:
a plurality of inductors coupled to the output node of the on-package voltage regulation system; and
a driver metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (DRMOS) control unit comprising:
a plurality of switch transistors coupled to the output node through the plurality of inductors, the plurality of inductors connected in parallel between the DRMOS control unit and the output node; and
a DRMOS controller comprising:
logic to determine the total output current based on the single control signal from the PCH, and to determine a distribution of the plurality of current phases through the plurality of inductors to produce the total output current at the output node; and
transistor drivers to control the plurality of switch transistors to share the plurality of current phases through the plurality of inductors based on the determined total output current and distribution;

wherein the PCH generates the single control signal without using a current feedback signal corresponding to the output current shared through the plurality of inductors.

2. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 1 , wherein the logic of the DRMOS controller is further configured to determine relative phases of the plurality of current phases through the plurality of inductors, and wherein the transistor drivers are further configured to share the total output current through the plurality of inductors based on the relative phases.

3. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 1 , wherein the single control signal from the PCH comprises a current command.

4. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 3 , wherein the PCH comprises:
a voltage comparator module to compare the voltage feedback signal to the reference voltage, and to output a voltage error signal corresponding to the difference between the voltage feedback signal and the reference voltage; and
a digital compensation module to generate the current command based on the voltage error.

5. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 4 , wherein the PCH further comprises:
an amplifier module to amplify the voltage error signal before providing the voltage error to the digital compensation module.

6. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 3 , wherein the logic of the DRMOS controller comprises:
a current regulating module to adjust one or more settings of the DRMOS controller to change the total output current at the output node in response to the current command;
a current sharing module to determine the distribution of the total output current through the plurality of inductors based on the adjusted one or more settings; and
a pulse width modulation (PWM) control module to generate PWM signals provided to the transistor drivers, wherein the transistor drivers switch the plurality of switch transistors based on the PWM signals.

7. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 1 , wherein the single control signal from the PCH comprises a pulse width modulation (PWM) command signal.

8. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 7 , wherein the PCH comprises:
a PWM module to generate the PWM command signal based on the difference between the voltage feedback signal and the reference voltage.

9. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 7 , wherein the DRMOS controller includes a frequency divider to split the PWM command signal into different phases corresponding to the plurality of current phases through the plurality of inductors based on the determined distribution of the output current.

10. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of switch transistors comprises:
a first pair of switch transistors electrically coupled in series between an input voltage and a ground, a first middle node between the first pair of switch transistors electrically coupled to the output node of the on-package voltage regulation system through a first inductor of the plurality of inductors; and
a second pair of switch transistors electrically coupled in series between the input voltage and the ground, a second middle node between the second pair of switch transistors electrically coupled to the output node of the on-package voltage regulation system through a second inductor of the plurality of inductors.

11. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 10 , wherein the transistor drivers are further configured to control the first pair of switch transistors and the second pair of switch transistors to generate a first portion of the output current through the first inductor and a second portion of the output current through the second inductor based on the determined total output current and distribution.

12. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 1 , wherein the first semiconductor die includes a central processing unit (CPU) powered by the DRMOS control unit.

13. The on-package voltage regulation system of claim 1 , further comprising a central processing unit (CPU) of a semiconductor die of the package, the semiconductor die separate from the first semiconductor die, the CPU powered by the DRMOS control unit.

14. A driver metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (DRMOS) control unit, comprising:
a first pair of switch transistors of a first semiconductor die and electrically coupled in series between an input voltage and a ground, a first middle node between the first pair of switch transistors providing a first current output;
a second pair of switch transistors of the first semiconductor die and electrically coupled in series between the input voltage and the ground, a second middle node between the second pair of switch transistors providing a second current output; and
a DRMOS controller of the first semiconductor die and configured to determine a total output current based on a received single control signal, and to determine a distribution of the total output current through the first current output and the second current output, the DRMOS controller comprising:
transistor drivers to control the first pair of switch transistors and the second pair of switch transistors to generate a first portion of the total output current through the first current output and a second portion of the total output current through the second current output based on the determined output current and distribution;

wherein the DRMOS controller is configured to receive the received single control signal from a platform controller hub PCH of a second semiconductor die that is separate from the first semiconductor die.

15. The DRMOS control unit of claim 14 , wherein the DRMOS controller is further configured to determine relative phases of individual currents through the first current output and the second current output, and wherein the transistor drivers are further configured to control the relative phases of the individual currents.

16. The DRMOS control unit of claim 14 , wherein the single control signal comprises a current command.

17. The DRMOS control unit of claim 16 , wherein th

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Uan-Zo-Li Alexander
• Nguyen Don

Classifications

• H02M2001/0009

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y02B70/1466

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H02M3/1588

  comprising at least one synchronous rectifier element (H02M3/1582, H02M3/1584 take precedence) · CPC title

• H02M3/1584 Primary

  with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel · CPC title

• H02M1/0009

  Devices or circuits for detecting current in a converter · CPC title