# US 2020/0401166 A1 · Regulators with offset voltage cancellation > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0401166 A1 - Document ID: US20200401166A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/448,162 - Filed: 2019-06-21 - Published: 2020-12-24 - Earliest claimed: 2019-06-21 - Assignees: Micron Technology, Inc. - Applicants: Micron Technology, Inc. - Inventors: Ki-Jun Nam; John David Porter - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200401166A1 ## CPC - G05F 1/44: semiconductor devices only - G05F 1/565: sensing a condition of the system or its load in addition to means responsive to deviations in the output of the system, e.g. current, voltage, power factor (G05F1/563 takes precedence) - G05F 1/575: characterised by the feedback circuit - H02M 7/537: using semiconductor devices only, e.g. single switched pulse inverters - H03F 3/45183: {Long tailed pairs (H03F3/4521, H03F3/45237 take precedence)} - H03F 3/45771: {using switching means} - H02M 1/0067: {Converter structures employing plural converter units, other than for parallel operation of the units on a single load} - H03F 3/45995: {using switching means} - H03F 2203/45048: Calibrating and standardising a dif amp - H03M 1/1028: {at two points of the transfer characteristic, i.e. by adjusting two reference values, e.g. offset and gain error (gain setting for range control H03M1/18)} - G05F: SYSTEMS FOR REGULATING ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC VARIABLES - H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P) - H03F: AMPLIFIERS - H03M: CODING; DECODING; CODE CONVERSION IN GENERAL (using fluidic means F15C4/00; optical analogue/digital converters G02F7/00; coding, decoding or code conversion, specially adapted for particular applications, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. G01D, G01R, G06F, G06T, G09G, G10L, G11B, G11C, H04B, H04L, H04M, H04N; ciphering or deciphering for cryptography or other purposes involving the need for secrecy G09C) ## Abstract A regulator includes an operational amplifier, a programmable offset voltage, and a circuit. The operational amplifier includes a non-inverting input, an inverting input, and an output. The programmable offset voltage is configured to cancel a built-in offset voltage of the regulator based on a code. The circuit is configured to set the code based on a sensed built-in offset voltage of the regulator in response to an offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A regulator comprising: an operational amplifier comprising a non-inverting input, an inverting input, and an output; a programmable offset voltage coupled between the non-inverting input and the inverting input and configured to cancel a built-in offset voltage of the regulator based on a code; and a circuit configured to set the code based on a sensed built-in offset voltage of the regulator in response to an offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal. ### Claim 2 A regulator comprising: an operational amplifier comprising a non-inverting input, an inverting input, and an output; a programmable offset voltage configured to cancel a built-in offset voltage of the regulator based on a code; a circuit configured to set the code based on a sensed built-in offset voltage of the regulator in response to an offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal; a first switch to connect the non-inverting input to the inverting input of the operational amplifier in response to the offset cancellation mode enable signal; and a second switch to disconnect the inverting input of the operational amplifier from a feedback path of the regulator in response to the offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The regulator of claim 2, further comprising: a first transistor to supply a regulated voltage to a load; a third switch to connect a voltage supply to a gate of the first transistor in response to the offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal; and a fourth switch to disconnect the output of the operational amplifier from the gate of the first transistor in response to the offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The regulator of claim 2, further comprising: a first transistor having a gate electrically coupled to the output of the operational amplifier, the first transistor to supply a regulated voltage to a load; a second transistor having a gate electrically coupled to the output of the operational amplifier, the second transistor to supply a voltage to the circuit; a third switch to disable the first transistor in response to the offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal; and a fourth switch to enable the second transistor in response to the offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The regulator of claim 2, further comprising: a first transistor electrically coupled to the output of the operational amplifier to supply a regulated voltage to a load, the first transistor having a first width; and a second transistor electrically coupled to the output of the operational amplifier to supply a voltage to the circuit, the second transistor having a second width less than 20 percent of the first width. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The regulator of claim 5, wherein the circuit comprises: a detector electrically coupled to the second transistor to compare the voltage supplied by the second transistor to a target voltage; and a state machine to set the code based on the comparison. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The regulator of claim 1, wherein the code comprises four bits. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The regulator of claim 1, wherein a polarity and a magnitude of the built-in offset voltage is random. ### Claim 9 A regulator comprising: an operational amplifier comprising a non-inverting input, an inverting input, and a first output; a reference voltage node to provide a reference voltage to the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier; a regulated voltage node to supply a regulated voltage to a load based on the reference voltage; and a programmable offset voltage controlled to cancel a built-in offset voltage between the reference voltage and the regulated voltage. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The regulator of claim 9, further comprising: a first transistor electrically coupled to the first output of the operational amplifier and the regulated voltage node; a first current source electrically coupled to the regulated voltage node; and a controller configured to connect the regulated voltage node to the inverting input of the operational amplifier during an operating mode of the regulator and to disconnect the regulated voltage node from the inverting input of the operating amplifier during an offset cancellation calibration mode of the regulator. ### Claim 11 A regulator comprising: an operational amplifier comprising a non-inverting input, an inverting input, and a first output; a reference voltage node to provide a reference voltage to the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier; a regulated voltage node to supply a regulated voltage to a load based on the reference voltage; a programmable offset voltage controlled to cancel a built-in offset voltage between the reference voltage and the regulated voltage; a first transistor electrically coupled to the first output of the operational amplifier and the regulated voltage node; a first current source electrically coupled to the regulated voltage node; a controller configured to connect the regulated voltage node to the inverting input of the operational amplifier during an operating mode of the regulator and to disconnect the regulated voltage node from the inverting input of the operating amplifier during an offset cancellation calibration mode of the regulator; an offset voltage sensing node; a second transistor electrically coupled to the first output of the operational amplifier and the offset voltage sensing node; and a second current source electrically coupled to the offset voltage sensing node, wherein the controller is configured to disconnect the non-inverting input from the inverting input of the operational amplifier during the operating mode of the regulator and to connect the non-inverting input to the inverting input of the operational amplifier during the offset cancellation calibration mode of the regulator. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The regulator of claim 11, further comprising: a detector electrically coupled to the offset voltage sensing node, the detector configured to output a bit indicating whether a voltage on the offset voltage sensing node is above or below a target voltage. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The regulator of claim 12, further comprising: a state machine electrically coupled to the detector, the state machine configured to generate a code to control the programmable offset voltage based on the bit output by the detector. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The regulator of claim 13, further comprising: an oscillator to generate a first compare clock signal, a second compare clock signal, and an offset cancellation mode clock signal in response to an offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal; a first register to store a first bit output from the detector in response to the first compare clock signal; and a second register to store a second bit output from the detector in response to the second compare clock signal, wherein, in response to the offset cancellation mode clock signal, a counter of the state machine is incremented, decremented, or maintained at its current value to generate the code based on the first bit stored in the first register and the second bit stored in the second register. ### Claim 15 A regulator comprising: an operational amplifier comprising a non-inverting input, an inverting input, and a first output; a reference voltage node to provide a reference voltage to the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier; a regulated voltage node to supply a regulated voltage to a load based on the reference voltage; a programmable offset voltage controlled to cancel a built-in offset voltage between the reference voltage and the regulated voltage; and an offset voltage sensing node; wherein the operational amplifier further comprises a second output, the first output electrically coupled to a first transistor to supply the regulated voltage on the regulated voltage node and the second output electrically coupled to a second transistor to supply a voltage on the offset voltage sensing node for sensing the built-in offset voltage between the reference voltage and the regulated voltage. ### Claim 16 A method for offset voltage cancellation in a regulator, the method comprising: sensing a built-in offset voltage of a regulator during an offset cancellation calibration mode of the regulator; generating a code based on the sensed built-in offset voltage; and applying the code to a programmable offset voltage coupled between a non-inverting input and an inverting input of an operational amplifier of the regulator to cancel the built-in offset voltage of the regulator. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: generating a regulated voltage via a main driver of the regulator during an operating mode of the regulator, wherein sensing the built-in offset voltage comprises sensing the built-in offset voltage via a replica path of the regulator during the offset cancellation calibration mode of the regulator, the replica path and the main driver comprising the same current density, and the replica path scaled to a smaller current than the main driver. ### Claim 18 A method for offset voltage cancellation in a regulator, the method comprising: sensing a built-in offset voltage of a regulator during an offset cancellation calibration mode of the regulator; generating a code based on the sensed built-in offset voltage; and applying the code to a programmable offset voltage of the regulator to cancel the built-in offset voltage of the regulator, wherein sensing the built-in offset voltage comprises sensing whether an output voltage of the regulator during the offset cancellation calibration mode is above or below a target voltage, and wherein generating the code comprises incrementing a counter in response to the output voltage being below the target voltage and decrementing the counter in response to the output voltage being above the target voltage. ### Claim 19 A method for offset voltage cancellation in a regulator, the method comprising: sensing a built-in offset voltage of a regulator during an offset cancellation calibration mode of the regulator; generating a code based on the sensed built-in offset voltage; and applying the code to a programmable offset voltage of the regulator to cancel the built-in offset voltage of the regulator, wherein sensing the built-in offset voltage comprises sensing whether an output voltage of the regulator during a first portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode is above or below a target voltage, wherein generating the code comprises incrementing a counter in response to the output voltage being below the target voltage and decrementing the counter in response to the output voltage being above the target voltage during the first portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode, wherein sensing the offset voltage further comprises sensing whether the output voltage of the regulator during a second portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode is above or below the target voltage, and wherein generating the code further comprises maintaining the counter in response to the output voltage being below the target voltage during the second portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode, decrementing the counter in response to both the output voltage being above the target voltage during the second portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode and below the target voltage during the first portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode, and maintaining the counter in response to both the output voltage being above the target voltage during the second portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode and the output voltage being above the target voltage during the first portion of the offset cancellation calibration mode. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: periodically generating an offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal to enable the offset cancellation calibration mode. ### Claim 21 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: generating an offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal to enable the offset cancellation calibration mode during a maintenance mode of a memory device receiving a regulated voltage supplied by the regulator. ### Claim 22 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: generating an offset cancellation calibration mode enable signal to enable the offset cancellation calibration mode during a refresh mode of a memory device receiving a regulated voltage supplied by the regulator.