Charge pump systems and methods

A charge pump comprising:

• a plurality of pump stages arranged in successive stages, each pump stage including an input node, an output node, and a first transistor coupled between the input node and the output node;
• an assist circuit coupled across the input node and the output node;
• wherein the assist circuit assists in charging up its associated pump stage.

A charge pump comprising:

• a plurality of pump stages arranged in successive stages, each pump stage including an output node, a first node, a first transistor coupled between an input node and the first node, and a second transistor coupled between the output node and the first node;
• wherein the second transistor is coupled to a different stage to acquire a reference voltage used to discharge the first node.

A charge pump comprising:

• a plurality of pump stages arranged in successive stages, each pump stage including an input node, an output node, and a first transistor;
• a precharge circuit coupled to an input node of a pump stage, wherein the precharge circuit includes a first transistor coupled to first reference within the charge pump to provide self-precharging;
• wherein the first transistor is coupled to a second reference within the charge pump that is used to avoid a breakdown condition.

A charge pump comprising:

• a plurality of pump stages arranged in successive stages, each pump stage including an input node, an output node, a capacitive component having a capacitance, and a discharge transistor coupled with one end of the capacitive component;
• and
• a voltage doubler to drive the capacitance.