IC regulator with constant current consumption

An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

• a regulator having an input coupled to a supply voltage and an output at which a load current and a regulated voltage are provided, the regulator comprising:
• a pass element having an input terminal coupled to the regulator input, an output terminal coupled to the regulator output, and a control terminal, wherein a pass element current between the input terminal and the output terminal is independent of the load current;
• a buffer having an output coupled to the regulator output and configured to shunt any portion of the pass element current that is greater than the load current;
• a functional circuit coupled to the output of the regulator and configured to draw the load current;
• a transistor coupled to the pass element in a current mirror configuration;
• and
• a biasing circuit coupled to the transistor and configured to establish the pass element current,
• wherein the biasing circuit comprises a current DAC.

An integrated circuit (IC) regulator having an input coupled to a supply voltage and an output at which a load current and a regulated voltage are provided to a functional circuit of the IC, the regulator comprising:

• a pass element having an input terminal coupled to the regulator input, an output terminal coupled to the regulator output, and a control terminal, wherein a pass element current between the input terminal and the output terminal is independent of the load current;
• a buffer having an output coupled to the regulator output and configured to shunt any portion of the pass element current that is greater than the load current,
• wherein the buffer comprises a source follower or an operational transconductance amplifier;
• a transistor coupled to the pass element in a current mirror configuration;
• and
• a biasing circuit coupled to the transistor and configured to establish the pass element current,
• wherein the biasing circuit comprises a current DAC.

An integrated circuit (IC) regulator having an input coupled to a supply voltage and an output at which a load current and a regulated voltage are provided to a functional circuit of the IC, the regulator comprising:

• a pass element having an input terminal coupled to the regulator input, an output terminal coupled to the regulator output, and a control terminal, wherein a pass element current between the input terminal and the output terminal is independent of the load current;
• a buffer having an output coupled to the regulator output and configured to shunt any portion of the pass element current that is greater than the load current;
• a transistor coupled to the pass element in a current mirror configuration;
• and
• a biasing circuit coupled to the transistor and configured to establish the pass element current,
• wherein the biasing circuit comprises a current DAC, and
• wherein the pass element is a MOSFET device biased with a constant gate to source voltage.

An integrated circuit (IC) regulator having an input coupled to a supply voltage and an output at which a load current and a regulated voltage are provided to a functional circuit of the IC, the regulator comprising:

• a pass element having an input terminal coupled to the regulator input, an output terminal coupled to the regulator output, and a control terminal, wherein a pass element current between the input terminal and the output terminal is independent of the load current;
• a buffer having an output coupled to the regulator output and configured to shunt any portion of the pass element current that is greater than the load current;
• a transistor coupled to the pass element in a current mirror configuration;
• and
• a biasing circuit coupled to the transistor and configured to establish the pass element current,
• wherein the biasing circuit comprises a current DAC, and
• wherein the buffer has a first input coupled to receive a reference voltage and a second input coupled to receive a feedback voltage that is based on the regulated voltage.

An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

• a regulator having an input coupled to a supply voltage and an output at which a load current and a regulated voltage are provided, the regulator comprising:
• a pass element having an input terminal coupled to the regulator input, an output terminal coupled to the regulator output, and a control terminal, wherein a pass element current between the input terminal and the output terminal is independent of the load current;
• a buffer having an output coupled to the regulator output and configured to shunt any portion of the pass element current that is greater than the load current;
• a functional circuit coupled to the output of the regulator and configured to draw the load current,
• wherein the buffer comprises a source follower or an operational transconductance amplifier;
• a transistor coupled to the pass element in a current mirror configuration;
• and
• a biasing circuit coupled to the transistor and configured to establish the pass element current, wherein the biasing circuit comprises a current DAC.