US 7,746,133 B2Granted

Charge pump circuit

AssigneeSony United Kingdom Limited

InventorPeter William Gaussen

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Abstract

A charge pump circuit including an input rail, an output rail, a voltage rail, a control line, an MOS input transistor including a gate and a channel connected between the input rail and the voltage rail, and an MOS output transistor including a gate and a channel connected between the output rail and the voltage rail. The gate of the input transistor is connected to the gate of the output transistor and a switch connects the channel of the output transistor to the voltage rail in response to a signal on the control line. The channel of an input cascode transistor connects the channel of the input transistor to the input rail and the channel of an output cascode transistor connects the channel of the output transistor to the output rail. The gate of the input cascode transistor is connected to the gate of the output cascode transistor.

Claims38

Dependent claims

A charge pump circuit comprising:

an input rail;
an output rail;
a voltage rail;
a control line;
an MOS input transistor, the input transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input transistor being connected between the input rail and the voltage rail;
an MOS output transistor, the output transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output transistor being connected between the output rail and the voltage rail, the gate of the input transistor being connected to the gate of the output transistor;
a switch for connecting the channel of the output transistor to the voltage rail in response to a signal on the control line;
an MOS input cascode transistor, the input cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input cascode transistor connecting the channel of the input transistor to the input rail;
an MOS output cascode transistor, the output cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output cascode transistor connecting the channel of the output transistor to the output rail, the gate of the input cascode transistor being connected to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
and
a switched bias circuit connected between the gate of the output cascode transistor and the voltage rail for biasing the voltage of the gate of the output cascode transistor in response to an absence of the signal on the control line such that the output cascode transistor inhibits flow of current through the output transistor from the output rail;
wherein
closing and opening the switch allows current to flow and not flow respectively between the output rail and the output transistor.

10 more elements

A charge pump for use in a fractional-N frequency synthesizer, the charge pump comprising:

a first charge pump circuit including:
an input rail;
an output rail;
a voltage rail;
a control line;
an MOS input transistor, the input transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input transistor being connected between the input rail and the voltage rail;
an MOS output transistor, the output transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output transistor being connected between the output rail and the voltage rail, the gate of the input transistor being connected to the gate of the output transistor;
a switch for connecting the channel of the output transistor to the voltage rail in response to a signal on the control line;
an MOS input cascode transistor, the input cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input cascode transistor connecting the channel of the input transistor to the input rail;
an MOS output cascode transistor, the output cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output cascode transistor connecting the channel of the output transistor to the output rail, the gate of the input cascode transistor being connected to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
and
a switched bias circuit connected between the gate of the output cascode transistor and the voltage rail for biasing the voltage of the gate of the output cascode transistor in response to an absence of the signal on the control line such that the output cascode transistor inhibits flow of current through the output transistor from the output rail;
wherein closing and opening said switch allows current to flow and not flow respectively between the output rail and the output transistor and wherein n-MOS transistors are used for pump down;
and
a second charge pump circuit including:
an input rail;
an output rail;
a voltage rail;
a control line;
an MOS input transistor, the input transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input transistor being connected between the input rail and the voltage rail;
an MOS output transistor, the output transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output transistor being connected between the output rail and the voltage rail, the gate of the input transistor being connected to the gate of the output transistor;
a switch for connecting the channel of the output transistor to the voltage rail in response to a signal on the control line;
an MOS input cascode transistor, the input cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input cascode transistor connecting the channel of the input transistor to the input rail;
an MOS output cascode transistor, the output cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output cascode transistor connecting the channel of the output transistor to the output rail, the gate of the input cascode transistor being connected to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
and
a switched bias circuit connected between the gate of the output cascode transistor and the voltage rail for biasing the voltage of the gate of the output cascode transistor in response to an absence of the signal on the control line such that the output cascode transistor inhibits flow of current through the output transistor from the output rail;
wherein closing and opening the switch allows current to flow and not flow respectively between the output rail and the output transistor, and wherein p-MOS transistors are used for pump up to complement the first charge pump circuit using n-MOS transistors.

24 more elements

A charge pump circuit comprising:

an input rail;
an output rail;
a voltage rail;
a control line;
an MOS input transistor, the input transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input transistor being connected between the input rail and the voltage rail;
an MOS output transistor, the output transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output transistor being connected between the output rail and the voltage rail, the gate of the input transistor being connected to the gate of the output transistor;
a switch for connecting the channel of the output transistor to the voltage rail in response to a signal on the control line;
an MOS input cascode transistor, the input cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input cascode transistor connecting the channel of the input transistor to the input rail;
an MOS output cascode transistor, the output cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output cascode transistor connecting the channel of the output transistor to the output rail, the gate of the input cascode transistor being connected to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
and
a cascode switch responsive to the signal on the control line to connect the gate of the input cascode transistor to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
wherein
closing and opening the switch allows current to flow and not flow respectively between the output rail and the output transistor.

10 more elements

A charge pump for use in a fractional-N frequency synthesizer, the charge pump comprising:

a first charge pump circuit including:
an input rail;
an output rail;
a voltage rail;
a control line;
an MOS input transistor, the input transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input transistor being connected between the input rail and the voltage rail;
an MOS output transistor, the output transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output transistor being connected between the output rail and the voltage rail, the gate of the input transistor being connected to the gate of the output transistor;
a switch for connecting the channel of the output transistor to the voltage rail in response to a signal on the control line;
an MOS input cascode transistor, the input cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input cascode transistor connecting the channel of the input transistor to the input rail;
an MOS output cascode transistor, the output cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output cascode transistor connecting the channel of the output transistor to the output rail, the gate of the input cascode transistor being connected to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
and
a cascode switch responsive to the signal on the control line to connect the gate of the input cascode transistor to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
wherein closing and opening said switch allows current to flow and not flow respectively between the output rail and the output transistor and wherein n-MOS transistors are used for pump down;
and
a second charge pump circuit including:
an input rail;
an output rail;
a voltage rail;
a control line;
an MOS input transistor, the input transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input transistor being connected between the input rail and the voltage rail;
an MOS output transistor, the output transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output transistor being connected between the output rail and the voltage rail, the gate of the input transistor being connected to the gate of the output transistor;
a switch for connecting the channel of the output transistor to the voltage rail in response to a signal on the control line;
an MOS input cascode transistor, the input cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the input cascode transistor connecting the channel of the input transistor to the input rail;
an MOS output cascode transistor, the output cascode transistor including a channel and a gate, the channel of the output cascode transistor connecting the channel of the output transistor to the output rail, the gate of the input cascode transistor being connected to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
and
a cascode switch responsive to the signal on the control line to connect the gate of the input cascode transistor to the gate of the output cascode transistor;
wherein closing and opening the switch allows current to flow and not flow respectively between the output rail and the output transistor, and wherein p-MOS transistors are used for pump up to complement the first charge pump circuit using n-MOS transistors.

24 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/064,374Filed 8 Sep 2006
Priority: GB 0518343.98 Sep 2005
Published: US 2008/0224746 A118 Sep 2008
Granted: 29 Jun 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

H03L 7/0895
The up-down pulses controlling source and sink current generators, e.g. a charge pump: details of the current generators
H03L 7/1974
A time difference being used for locking the loop, the counter counting between numbers which are variable in time or the frequency divider…: for…
H03L
Automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or

Family

US 2008/0224746 A1Pre-grant publication · published 18 Sep 2008
US 7,746,133 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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