Charge pump with temporally-varying adiabaticity
AssigneepSemi Corporation
InventorsGregory Szczeszynski, Oscar Blyde, David M. Giuliano, Jeffrey Summit, Raymond Barrett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Operation of a charge pump is controlled to optimize power conversion efficiency by using an adiabatic mode with some operating characteristics and a non-adiabatic mode with other characteristics. The control is implemented by controlling a configurable circuit at the output of the charge pump.
Claims55
An apparatus comprising a switched-capacitor charge pump configured to provide voltage conversion between first and second terminals thereof, a compensation circuit coupled to a first terminal of said charge pump, said compensation circuit having a first configuration and a second configuration, wherein, in said first configuration, said first terminal of said charge pump couples to a capacitance, wherein, in said second configuration, said capacitance is decoupled from said first terminal of said charge pump, and a controller coupled to said charge pump and said compensation circuit, said controller comprising an output for configuring said compensation circuit, and a first sensor input for accepting a first sensor-signal that, at least in part, characterizes operation of a circuit selected from the group consisting of said charge pump and a peripheral circuit directly coupled to said charge pump, wherein said controller is configured to configure said compensation circuit based at least in part on said first sensor-signal to promote efficiency of power conversion between a power source coupled to said charge pump and a load coupled to said charge pump via said compensation circuit.
A method comprising carrying out voltage conversion, wherein carrying out voltage conversion comprises receiving a sensor signal that characterizes, at least in part, operation of a circuit that is selected from the group consisting of a switched-capacitor charge pump that provides voltage conversion between first and second terminals thereof and a peripheral circuit, wherein said peripheral circuit is directly connected to said switched capacitor charge pump, and based at least in part on said sensor signal, causing a compensation circuit that is coupled to a first terminal of said charge pump to transition between coupling and decoupling a capacitance from said first terminal, and wherein causing said compensating circuit to transition comprises causing said compensation circuit to transition at times that promote efficiency of power conversion between a power source coupled to said charge pump and a load coupled to said charge pump via said compensation circuit.
An apparatus comprising a power converter, said power converter comprising first and second terminals, said power converter being configured to cause a second voltage to be maintained at said second terminal in response to presence of a first voltage presented at said first terminal, wherein said power converter further comprises a compensation circuit, a controller, a switching network, and capacitors, wherein said switching network interconnects said capacitors, wherein, as a result of transitioning between first and second states thereof, said switching network causes said capacitors to transition between corresponding first and second arrangements, wherein as a result of a transition, electrical charge propagates between said capacitors, wherein said controller is connected to receive, from at least one of a first circuit and a second circuit, information indicative of an extent to which said propagation of said electrical charge between said capacitors results in energy loss, wherein said controller is configured to cause said compensation circuit to transition between a first configuration and a second configuration based on said information, said transition being one that reduces said extent and that causes a capacitance of said compensation circuit to be switched into or out of communication with said first circuit, wherein said first circuit is a circuit that is formed by said switching network and said capacitors, and wherein said second circuit is a circuit that is directly connected to a circuit that is formed by said capacitors and said switching network.
An apparatus comprising:
- a controller comprising a circuit and configured to be coupled to a charge pump, wherein the charge pump includes a plurality of switches, the charge pump configured to operate a switching frequency in which during one or more cycles of the switching frequency various configurations result via switching states of switches within the plurality of switches to provide charging and/or discharging paths with respect to one or more capacitors and one or more inductors during charge pump operation and the charge pump including one or more internal sensors to respectively measure voltage at one or more voltage nodes within the charge pump and/or current along one or more current paths within the charge pump,
- the controller configured to adjust a timing pattern of switching of the charge pump based, at least in part, on one or more internal measurement signals of the one or more internal sensors.
A method comprising:
- operating a charge pump at a switching frequency in which during one or more cycles of the switching frequency various configurations result via switching states of switches within a plurality of switches to provide charging and/or discharging paths with respect to one or more capacitors and one or more inductors during charge pump operation;
- measuring respectively voltage at one or more voltage nodes within the charging pump and/or current along one or more current paths within the charge pump as one or more internal measurement signals of one or more internal sensors of the charge pump;
- and
- adjusting a timing pattern of switching of the charge pump during the one or more cycles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.