Open-loop tracking control module to control input range swing for radiation-hardened devices
AssigneeNorthrop Grumman Systems Corporation
InventorsTimothy T. Hsia, Victor K. Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit includes a tracking control module that receives an input voltage and a dynamic reference voltage. The tracking control module generates a swing-limited output voltage to mitigate over-voltage swings of the input voltage. The tracking control module includes a bias tracker that receives the dynamic reference voltage and generates a reference tracking control signal that tracks voltage changes in the dynamic reference voltage. A swing-limiter receives the reference tracking control signal and the input voltage. The swing-limiter limits the magnitude of the received input voltage based on a threshold and adjusts the swing-limited output voltage in response to the reference tracking control signal.
Claims20
A circuit, comprising:
- a tracking control module configured to receive an input voltage and a dynamic reference voltage, the tracking control module configured to generate a swing-limited output voltage to mitigate over-voltage swings of the input voltage, the tracking control module further comprising:
- a bias tracker configured to receive the dynamic reference voltage and to generate a reference tracking control signal that tracks voltage changes in the dynamic reference voltage;
- and
- a swing-limiter configured to receive the reference tracking control signal and the input voltage, the swing-limiter configured to limit the magnitude of the received input voltage based on a threshold and to adjust the swing-limited output voltage in response to the reference tracking control signal.
A circuit, comprising:
- an integrated circuit (IC) that includes a radiation hardened by design (RHBD) device having a device input, the RHBD device operatively coupled to the IC and configured to operate at a device voltage (VDEV) that is less than an operating voltage (VDD) of the IC;
- a bias tracker configured to receive a dynamic reference voltage and to generate a reference tracking control signal that tracks voltage changes in the dynamic reference voltage, wherein the bias tracker includes a bias input stage and a bias output stage, the bias input stage configured to receive an input bias current (IBIAS) and the operating voltage VDD of the IC, and the bias input stage configured to provide an output bias current based on IBIAS and VDD to bias the bias output stage of the bias tracker;
- and
- a swing-limiter transistor device configured to receive the reference tracking control signal from the bias tracker and an input voltage, the swing-limiter transistor device configured to generate a swing-limited output voltage in response to the reference tracking control signal and the input voltage, the swing-limiter transistor device configured to limit the magnitude of the received input voltage based on a threshold and to adjust the swing-limited output voltage in response to the reference tracking control signal, the swing-limiter transistor device configured to provide the swing-limited output voltage to the RHBD device.
A system, comprising:
- an integrated circuit (IC) that includes a radiation hardened by design (RHBD) device having a device input, the RHBD device operatively coupled to the IC and configured to operate at a device voltage (VDEV) that is less than an operating voltage (VDD) of the IC;
- and
- a tracking control module that receives an input voltage and a dynamic reference voltage, the tracking control module configured to generate a swing-limited output voltage to the RHBD device based on the input voltage and the dynamic reference voltage, the tracking control module further comprising:
- a bias tracker configured to receive the dynamic reference voltage and to generate a reference tracking control signal that tracks voltage changes in the dynamic reference voltage;
- and
- a swing-limiter configured to receive the reference tracking control signal and the input voltage, the swing-limiter configured to limit the magnitude of the received input voltage to the RHBD device based on the threshold and to adjust the swing-limited output voltage in response to the reference tracking control signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.