Power supply voltage detection and power delivery circuit
US9912325B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 11, 2016 |
| Grant date | Mar 6, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 11, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K5/08
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A circuit that detects the power supply voltage requirement of each voltage domain in an IC includes 1) a ring oscillator in each voltage domain, and 2) a power module. Two different circuit implementations of the power module may provide a precise reference voltage to on-chip voltage regulators (LDO or DC-DC switching buck converter). The power module supports DVFS and can provide the desired power supply voltage for advanced CMOS technology nodes (45 nm and beyond) in less than 100 ns. The voltage detection circuit clamps the voltage to the desired level to address power supply voltage variations due to PVT and ageing. The proposed technique has minimal power and area overhead to compensate for the power supply voltage variation, thus reducing power supply voltage margins which yields higher power saving.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.