Multi-phase voltage regulator

A multiphase voltage regulator comprising:

• an output terminal for providing a regulated output voltage to a load coupled thereto;
• a plurality of switches in parallel to each other for providing a plurality of current phases, the plurality of current phases being added together to generate a total current for said output terminal;
• a plurality of inductive circuits coupled between respective outputs of said plurality of switches and said output terminal;
• a sense filtering circuit comprising
• a first adder node,
• a first adder circuit comprising a plurality of resistances connected between said first adder node and the respective outputs of said plurality of switches, and
• a plurality of capacitors connected to said first adder node and filtering voltages on the respective outputs of said plurality of switches, the filtered voltages being added together for outputting an added and filtered voltage at said first adder node;
• and
• a second adder node and a second adder circuit coupled to said second adder node, said second adder circuit comprising a plurality of resistances connected to respective outputs of said plurality of inductive circuits for adding voltages output by said plurality of inductive circuits;
• and
• an amplifier circuit having first and second inputs, said first input connected to said first adder node of said sense filtering circuit, and said second input connected to said second adder node, and an output for outputting a current proportional to the total current of said output terminal.

A method for making a multiphase voltage regulator comprising:

• forming an output terminal for providing a regulated output voltage to a load;
• coupling a plurality of switches in parallel to each other for providing a plurality of current phases, the plurality of current phases being added together to generate a total current for the output terminal;
• coupling a plurality of inductive circuits between respective outputs of the plurality of switches and the output terminal, each inductive circuit comprising an inductance and a resistance coupled to the inductance;
• forming a sense circuit for adding voltages on the outputs of the plurality of switches, the sense circuit comprising a first adder node, and a first adder circuit comprising a plurality of resistances connected between the first adder node and the respective outputs of the plurality of switches;
• coupling a second adder circuit to a second adder node, the second adder circuit comprising a plurality of resistances connected to respective outputs of the plurality of inductive circuits for adding voltages output by the plurality of inductive circuits, with the plurality of resistances being separate from the resistance of each inductive circuit;
• forming an amplifier circuit having a first input connected to the first input of the sense circuit for receiving the added voltage from the sense circuit, and a second input connected to the second adder node for receiving the added voltages output by the plurality of inductive circuits, and an output for generating a current proportional to the total current;
• and
• providing a controller comprising first and second pins for reading the total current, the first and second pins respectively coupled to the first and second inputs of the amplifier circuit, with the controller operating on an input voltage of the plurality of switches to keep the total current constant.