Pre-charged fast wake up low-dropout regulator
AssigneeSkyworks Solutions, Inc.
InventorBo Zhou
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments described herein present a new LDO design that eliminates the need for the sleep bias circuitry included in other systems. Further, the new LDO design can be biased with a small fraction of the operating current enabling the LDO to wake up substantially faster than previous LDO designs that include separate sleep circuitry. In some cases, the LDO can instantly (or faster than other LDOs) transition from a sleep mode to an operating mode enabling improved operation compared to prior LDOs. Furthermore, the new LDO design maintains a non-breakdown voltage across the transistors reducing the need to enter sleep mode to prevent transistors of the LDO from entering a breakdown region.
Claims21
(canceled)
A low-dropout regulator circuit for use at an input of a subsequent circuit element, the low-dropout regulator comprising:
- an input stage circuit including a current source and an input transistor network configured to receive a reference voltage input;
- and
- an output stage circuit including an output transistor and a cutoff transistor, the cutoff transistor configured to control output of a regulated output voltage supplied by the output transistor to a subsequent circuit element separate from the low-dropout regulator based at least in part on the reference voltage and a resistor ratio, and the current source configured to supply a sleep current to transistors of the low-dropout regulator circuit when the low-dropout regulator circuit enters a sleep mode enabling the low-dropout regulator to wake up from the sleep mode without waiting for a charge time period.
A mobile device, comprising:
- one or more antennas;
- and
- a diversity module coupled to at least one of the antennas and including a low noise amplifier and a controller, the controller including a low-dropout regulator circuit having an input stage circuit including a current source and an input transistor network configured to receive a reference voltage input, the low-dropout regulator further including an output stage circuit including an output transistor and a cutoff transistor, the cutoff transistor configured to control output of a regulated output voltage supplied by the output transistor to a subsequent circuit element separate from the low-dropout regulator based at least in part on the reference voltage and a resistor ratio, and the current source configured to supply a sleep current to transistors of the low-dropout regulator circuit when the low-dropout regulator circuit enters a sleep mode enabling the low-dropout regulator to wake up from the sleep mode without waiting for a charge time period.
A method of controlling a low-dropout regulator circuit, the method comprising:
- providing a control signal to a cutoff transistor of the low-dropout regulator circuit;
- maintaining a voltage across an output transistor regardless of whether the control signal is associated with a sleep mode;
- generating an output voltage based at least in part on a reference voltage and a resistor ratio;
- providing the output voltage from the low-dropout regulator circuit to a subsequent circuit element separate from the low-dropout regulator;
- and
- in response to the control signal being associated with a sleep mode, providing a current to the transistor of the low-dropout regulator circuit, the current less than an operating current supplied to the transistor when the low-dropout regulator circuit is not in the sleep mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.