Adaptive current control in switching power regulators for fast transient response

Abstract

The present disclosure describes various aspects of adaptive current control in a switching power regulator for fast transient response. In some aspects, in response to detecting a transient load (702), a clock (326) of a switching power regulator (134) is prevented from affecting the current applied to the inductor of the regulator. A first switching device (302) applies current to the inductor (310) of the regulator until the inductor current reaches a maximum current level (712). Then, a second switching device (304) enables current to flow through the inductor based on the output voltage (312) of the switching power regulator until the inductor current reaches a current control signal (716). In some aspects, an offset (706) is also applied to the current control signal to further increase the average inductor current. These operations can be repeated without interrupting the clock to quickly increase the inductor current so that the current is provided to the regulator output in response to the transient load current.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Switching power supplies are commonly used to power various components in computing and electrical devices. Typically, a switching power supply regulates power received at one voltage to another voltage at which the power is provided to the components of the device. In some cases, the current consumption of the device components may increase significantly during operation, which may be referred to as a transient load or load step. If this increased current consumption cannot be met, the output voltage of the switching power supply decreases or drops until the switching power supply is restored. However, before this occurs, the low or falling voltage at the output of the switching power supply may render the device inoperable when the components are turned off or unable to operate at the low voltage. Some device manufacturers have attempted to address the power supply voltage drop problem by increasing the capacitance at the output of the switching regulator. However, increasing the number or size of the output capacitors increases circuit complexity, consumes valuable layout area, and increases overall device cost. Summary of the invention

[0002] The present disclosure describes an apparatus and technique for adaptive current control for fast transient response. In various aspects, a load increase at the output of a switching power regulator (switching regulator) is detected. In response to detecting the increase in load, the clock of the switching regulator is prevented from affecting the current applied to the inductor of the switching regulator. The first switching device of the switching regulator applies current to the inductor until the inductor current reaches a maximum or peak current level. Then, the second switching device of the switching regulator enables current to flow through the inductor until the inductor current reaches the current control signal. The current control signal is provided based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator. In addition, an offset can be applied to the current control signal to further increase the average inductor current (e.g., to reactivate the first switching device more quickly). These operations can be repeated without interrupting the clock to quickly increase the inductor current, thereby increasing the current provided to the output of the switching regulator in response to the increase in load at the output. Therefore, during load transients, the adaptive current control mode helps to relieve pressure to increase the control loop bandwidth, which in turn may increase the noise immunity of the regulator.

[0003] In some aspects, a method implemented by a switching power regulator to increase output current in response to an increase in load on the switching power regulator. The method detects an increase in load at the output of the switching power regulator. In response to the increase in load, the method initiates an adaptive current control mode of the switching power regulator, wherein a clock of the switching power regulator is prevented from affecting the application of current to an inductor of the switching power regulator. The method includes implementing a first stage of the adaptive current control mode, wherein the current is applied from an input of the switching power regulator to an inductor of the switching power regulator via a first switching device until the inductor current reaches a predefined level of maximum current.

[0004] The method also includes implementing a second stage of the adaptive current control mode, wherein the current is enabled to flow through the inductor via a second switching device from a potential below the input of the switching power regulator until the inductor current reaches a current control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator. When the switching power regulator is operating in the adaptive current control mode, the method detects a reduction in load at the output. In response to the reduction in load at the output, the method includes switching the switching power regulator to operate in a steady-state mode, wherein a clock of the switching power regulator affects the current applied to the inductor of the switching power regulator.

[0005] In other aspects, a circuit for regulating power includes a first switching device coupled to an input of the circuit, an inductor having a first end coupled to the first switching device and a second end coupled to an output of the circuit, and a second switch coupled between the first end of the inductor and a potential below the output of the circuit, the second switch being generally grounded. The circuit also includes first and second sensing electronic circuits configured to provide first and second indications of current flowing through the first and second switching devices, respectively. A clock of the circuit is operably coupled to a drive electronic circuit of the first switching device and the second switching device. The circuit also includes a current comparator having an output operably coupled to the drive electronic circuit and a first input operably coupled to the second sensing electronic circuit, and an error amplifier having an input operably coupled to the output of the circuit and an output coupled to a second input of the current comparator.

[0006] An adaptive current controller associated with the circuit is configured to detect an increase in load at an output of the circuit and, in response to the increase in load, cause the circuit to operate in an adaptive current control mode in which a clock of the circuit is prevented from affecting the application of current to an inductor of the circuit. The controller implements a first phase of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is applied to the inductor via the first switching device until a first indication of current flowing through the inductor reaches a predefined level of maximum inductor current. The controller then implements a second phase of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is enabled to flow through the inductor via the second switching device until the current comparator determines that a second indication of current flowing through the inductor reaches a current control signal provided via the output of the error amplifier. The controller is also configured to detect a decrease in load at the output while the circuit is operating in the adaptive current control mode. In response to the decrease in load at the output, the controller causes the circuit to operate in a steady-state mode in which a clock of the circuit affects the application of current to the inductor of the circuit.

[0007] In other aspects, a method implemented by a switching power regulator to increase output current in response to a transient load on the switching power regulator. The method includes detecting a transient load at the output of the switching power regulator, and shielding a clock signal of the switching power regulator in response to detecting the transient load to prevent the clock signal from interrupting the application of current to an inductor of the switching power regulator. The method includes activating a first switching device of the switching power regulator to start applying the current to an inductor of the switching power regulator, and sensing an amount of current flowing into the inductor at a first node operably coupled to the first switching device to provide a first indication of the current flow of the inductor. In response to the first indication that the current flow meets a predefined threshold of a maximum inductor current, the first switching device is deactivated.

[0008] Then, in response to deactivating the first switching device, the method activates a second switching device of the switching power regulator so that the current continues to flow through the inductor and senses the amount of current flowing into the inductor at a second node operably coupled to the second switching device to provide a second indication of the current flow in the inductor. When the second switching device is activated, the second indication of the current flow is compared with a control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator. In response to the current flow satisfying the second indication of the control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator, the second switching device is deactivated, and the first switching device is activated to restart the application of the current to the inductor of the switching power regulator, thereby effectively increasing the amount of current flowing into the inductor and the output of the switching power regulator.

[0009] Details of one or more implementations of adaptive current control in a switching power regulator for fast transient response are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. This summary is provided to introduce the subject matter that is further described in the detailed description and the drawings. Therefore, this summary should not be considered to describe essential features, nor should it be considered to limit the scope of the subject matter of the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The present disclosure describes apparatus and techniques for adaptive current control for fast transient response with reference to the following drawings. The same or similar reference numerals may be used throughout the description and drawings to indicate similar features or components:

[0011] Figure 1 An example operating environment is illustrated that includes a user device that includes a switching power regulator and is capable of implementing various aspects of adaptive current control for fast transient response.

[0012] Figure 2 The diagram includes Figure 1 Examples of power systems of adaptive current controllers and adaptive current control electronic circuits are shown.

[0013] Figure 3 An example configuration of a single-phase switching power regulator including adaptive current control electronics is illustrated.

[0014] Figure 4 An example configuration of a multi-phase switching power regulator including adaptive current control electronics is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 5 An example method for implementing an adaptive current control mode for a switching power regulator is illustrated.

[0016] Fig. 6A and Figure 6B An example method of masking a clock signal and activating a switching device of a switching power regulator to increase an inductor current to the output of the switching power regulator is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 7 An example graph of an inductor current regulated according to one or more aspects of adaptive current control is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 8 Example graphs of output voltage and inductor current of a switching power regulator implementing aspects of adaptive current control are illustrated.

[0019] Fig. 9An example method for implementing aspects of adaptive current control in a multi-phase power switching regulator is illustrated.

[0020] Fig.10 Additional example graphs of corresponding inductor phase currents and output voltages for a multi-phase switching power regulator implementing aspects of adaptive current control are illustrated.

[0021] Fig.11 Example graphs of output voltages and corresponding inductor phase currents of a multi-phase switching power regulator implementing aspects of adaptive current control are illustrated.

[0022] Fig.12 An example system-on-chip (SoC) environment is illustrated in which techniques for adaptive current control for fast transient response may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Conventional techniques for regulating power typically implement pulse width modulation (PWM) to control the current applied to an energy storage element (e.g., an inductor) of a power circuit. Typically, a switch is used to modulate the current applied to the inductor based on the duty cycle of a PWM waveform or pulse train generated by the logic of the power circuit. In some cases, PWM control is implemented at a fixed frequency, where the cycle of the PWM scheme is managed by a clock signal that controls the application of current during or at the end of a given modulation cycle. An example of a power regulator that implements fixed frequency switching is a leading edge modulated current mode (e.g., valley mode) regulator, which is used to power mobile device processor core rails (e.g., for central and graphics processing units (CPUs) and GPUs). Leading edge current mode modulation may include low-side current sensing, which alleviates the limitations of duty cycle and / or switching frequency associated with high-side sensing, cycle-by-cycle inductor current regulation, which makes it easier to implement multi-phase current sharing, and a fixed switching frequency, which enables multi-phase operation without the need for phase synchronization using a complex phase-locked loop (PLL). Therefore, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) implementing leading edge current mode control or valley mode control is often used to power the CPU, GPU, and / or memory power rails in battery-powered devices.

[0024] However, the fixed frequency nature of the leading-edge current mode PMIC may impair the performance of the PMIC in transient loads or high current steps, such as increasing the current slew rate of the CPU and GPU typically associated with mobile devices. Traditional solutions to address poor transient load performance include adding or increasing the size of the output capacitor on the power supply at additional cost and increasing the design volume, or limiting the CPU speed, which directly impairs the user experience. Leading-edge current mode PMICs may also perform poorly when regulating power at lower voltages associated with CPUs and GPUs. Generally, leading-edge current mode modulation is also called valley current control mode, which can be viewed as the inverse logic of multiple ways to implement peak current control mode. Therefore, the small signal model of the peak current control mode can be applied to the valley current control mode, where the high-side current sensing of the peak current control mode is replaced by low-side current sensing. Although low-side current sensing reduces the complexity of low output voltage regulation (e.g., high input / output duty cycle), the performance of the valley mode current comparator may degrade due to low output voltage due to noise issues. Various slope compensation schemes can mitigate noise issues, but the resulting loop gain and bandwidth of a leading edge design will be more restrictive than trailing edge (or peak current) control for the same low duty cycle. For these reasons, more expensive and more complex constant on-time (COT) control PMICs are often used in low voltage applications rather than leading edge current mode control or valley current control PMICs.

[0025] The present disclosure describes various aspects of adaptive current control for fast transient response compared to conventional leading edge current mode or valley current control schemes. Generally, the aspects provide improved response to transient loads (e.g., load steps or high current slew rates) by increasing inductor current, and thus increasing output current, and then enabling the switching regulator to transition (e.g., after responding to the current increase transient load) to fixed frequency operation of valley current control mode for steady state operation (e.g., at minimum or nominal current load).

[0026] In some aspects, the adaptive current control enables the switching regulator to include a high-side switch, through which the current is applied to the inductor of the switching regulator, thereby being applied to the output of the switching regulator. Generally, an effective way to deliver current to the inductor is to keep the high-side switch turned on until the maximum or peak current limit of the switching regulator (e.g., the inductor or high-side switch current limit) is reached. Unlike the traditional valley current control mode, the adaptive current control mode can mask or disable the clock signal of the switching regulator that usually turns off the high-side switch. By disabling the clock signal, the switching regulator can manage the current flowing into the inductor based on the peak current limit and the valley current comparator configured for adaptive current control. Therefore, the valley current comparator can be used to control the valley current level of the inductor current based on the offset output of the error amplifier (e.g., VC) in combination with the peak current limit. In some aspects, the current sensing offset can be introduced into the output of the error amplifier to increase the level of the valley current, thereby increasing the average inductor current by increasing the threshold of the minimum current flowing through the inductor. In doing so, the adaptive current control mode can respond to transient loads with increased peak and / or average current levels to significantly reduce or minimize the voltage drop at the output of the switching regulator. For the same amount of output capacitance, this increased current can reduce the voltage drop, or allow the designer to use less output capacitance for a given amount of voltage drop, thereby reducing the cost and design volume allocated to the output capacitance.

[0027] For example, when a load step is applied to the output of a switching regulator implementing adaptive current control, the control loop of the switching regulator may be based on an error amplifier (e.g., V C ) output. As a worst-case scenario, consider when a switching regulator wakes up from a light-load pulse frequency modulation (PFM) mode to a load step requirement of an output with a high slew rate, such as tens of A / μSec for a current-intensive processor. In various aspects, in response to a transition from PFM mode to PWM mode, an adaptive current controller can generate a pulse signal to mask or disable operation of the switching regulator's clock and apply an offset to the output of the error amplifier. As the transient load subsides and steady-state operation approaches, generation of the pulse signal ceases and the clock signal and / or slope compensation signal resumes for steady-state operation. In some cases, such an adaptive current control mode or control loop is more tolerant to variations in operating conditions (e.g., various load demand levels) and circuit component values ​​(e.g., number or size of output capacitors).

[0028] Typically, the pulse signal is generated with appropriate timing and length to effectively increase the current for fast transient response and seamlessly transition or return to clock-based steady-state operation of the switching regulator. As described herein, there are various embodiments by which adaptive current control pulse signals are generated or derived, such as based on output voltage sag detection, error voltage rising edge, error current of an operational transconductance amplifier, or a similar combination. By implementing this aspect and other aspects of adaptive current control, the output current of the switching regulator can be increased or maximized based on load demand (or load request), and the overshoot of smaller load steps can be reduced. Alternatively or additionally, adaptive current control can be applied to a single-phase switching regulator or a multi-phase switching regulator as described throughout the present disclosure.

[0029] In various aspects, a user device includes a switching power regulator and an adaptive current controller (current controller) implemented according to one or more aspects of adaptive current control. The current controller detects an increase in a load (e.g., a transient load) at the output of the switching power regulator (switching regulator). In response to detecting an increase in the load, the current controller prevents the clock of the switching regulator from affecting the current applied to the inductor of the switching regulator. The current controller activates a first switching device of the switching regulator to apply current to the inductor until the inductor current reaches a maximum current level. Then, the current controller activates a second switching device of the switching regulator when the first switching device is inactive to enable current to flow through the inductor until the inductor current reaches a current control signal or a threshold. A current control signal is provided based on the output voltage of the switching regulator. In addition, in response to the activation of the first and second switching devices, an offset can be applied to the current control signal to further increase the average inductor current. These operations can be repeated without interrupting the clock to quickly increase the inductor current, thereby increasing the current provided to the output of the switching regulator in response to an increase in the load at the output. By doing so, the switching regulator can respond to transient loads by quickly increasing the current through the inductor and reducing or mitigating the voltage drop at the output of the switching regulator.

[0030] The following discussion describes an operating environment, technologies that may be employed in the operating environment, and various devices or systems in which components of the operating environment may be embodied.In the context of the present disclosure, reference is made to an operating environment by way of example only.

[0031] Example Environment

[0032] Figure 1An example environment 100 including a user device 102 is illustrated in which aspects of adaptive current control for fast transient response may be implemented. The user device 102 may be implemented as any suitable device, some of which are illustrated as a smartphone 104, a tablet computer 106, a laptop computer 108, a wearable computing device 110 (e.g., a smart watch), a broadband router 112 (e.g., a mobile hotspot), and an automotive computing system 114 (e.g., a navigation and entertainment system). Although not shown, the user device 102 may also be implemented as a mobile station (e.g., a fixed or mobile STA), a mobile communication device, a client device, a user device, a mobile phone, an entertainment device, a gaming device, a mobile gaming console, a personal media device, a media playback device, a health monitoring device, a drone, a camera, a wearable smart device, an Internet appliance capable of wireless Internet access and browsing, an Internet of Things device, and / or other types of user devices. The user device 102 may provide other functionality or include features that are not shown for clarity or visual simplicity. Figure 1 Components or interfaces omitted from the .

[0033] The user device 102 includes one or more processors 116 and a computer-readable medium 118, which may include a memory medium or a storage medium. The processor 116 may be implemented as a general-purpose processor (e.g., a multi-core central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a system on a chip (SoC) with other components of the user device 102 integrated therein. The computer-readable medium 118 may include any suitable type of memory medium or storage medium, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), a random access memory (RAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), or flash memory. In the context of this discussion, the computer-readable medium 118 of the user device 102 is implemented as at least one hardware-based or physical storage device that does not include transient signals or carriers. The application, firmware, and / or operating system (not shown) of the user device 102 may be embodied on the computer-readable medium 118 as processor-executable instructions, which may be executed by the processor 116 to provide the various functions described herein. The computer-readable medium 118 may also store device data 120 , such as user data or user media accessible by an application, firmware, or operating system of the user device 102 .

[0034] In this example, the computer-readable medium 118 also includes an adaptive current controller 122 (current controller 122) described throughout the disclosure. In general, the current controller 122 can implement one or more aspects of adaptive current control to increase the amount of current provided to the inductor of the switching regulator, such as in response to an increase in the load on the switching regulator. In some cases, the current controller 122 shields the clock signal, shields the slope compensation signal, applies an offset to the output of the error amplifier, etc. Alternatively or additionally, the current controller 122 can implement an adaptive current control mode in which the clock signal is prevented from affecting or interrupting the current applied to the inductor of the switching regulator. According to the adaptive current control mode, the current controller 122 can implement a control loop in which the inductor current is controlled based on the maximum current level of the inductor and the low-side sensing based on the offset output of the error amplifier. By doing so, the current controller 122 can increase the amount of current provided to the output of the switching regulator, such as in response to a load step or transient load. How the current controller 122 is implemented and used is different and is described throughout the disclosure.

[0035] The user device 102 may also include a display 124, a transceiver 126, an I / O port 128, and / or a sensor 130. The display 124 may be operably coupled to one of the processors 116 (e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU)) and configured to graphically present an operating system or application of the user device 102. The transceiver 126 may be configured to enable wired or wireless communication of data (e.g., device data 120) over a wired or wireless network according to any suitable communication protocol. The I / O ports 128 of the user device 102 may include USB ports, coaxial cable ports, and other serial or parallel connectors (including internal connectors) for coupling the user device to various components, peripherals, or accessories, such as a keyboard, microphone, or camera.

[0036] The user device 102 also includes a sensor 130 that enables the user device 102 to sense various attributes, changes, stimuli, or characteristics of the environment in which the user device 102 operates. For example, the sensor 130 may include various motion sensors, ambient light sensors, acoustic sensors, capacitive sensors, infrared sensors, temperature sensors, radar sensors, or magnetic sensors. Alternatively or additionally, the sensor 130 may enable interaction with a user of the user device 102 or receive input from a user of the user device 102, such as through touch sensing or proximity sensing. In some aspects of adaptive current control, the current controller 122 may monitor the sensor 130, such as receiving temperature data or feedback via one of the sensors 130. Based on the temperature data, the current controller 122 may change the amplitude or duration of the offset or pulse signal when implementing adaptive current control.

[0037] The power system 132 provides regulated power to components of the user device 102, such as the processor 116, CRM 118, display 124, transceiver 126, I / O port 128, or sensor 130. In this example, the power system 132 includes one or more switching power regulators 134 (switching regulators 134) and adaptive current control electronic circuits 136 (ACC electronic circuits 136). The switching regulators 134 can be configured to provide power to various components of the user device 102 at different corresponding voltage levels. For example, one of the switching regulators 134 can include a multi-phase switching regulator that is configured to step down battery power (e.g., 3.7 to 4.2V) or external power (e.g., 5.0V) to a voltage (e.g., 0.750V) at which the processor 116 consumes power to operate.

[0038] The ACC electronic circuit 136 can implement one or more aspects of adaptive current control, such as generating a pulse signal to mask the clock of the switching regulator 134 or provide an offset to the output of the error amplifier or other current control threshold. The current controller 122 can interact with the ACC electronic circuit 136 to implement various aspects described herein, such as by configuring a predefined current threshold, a predefined ramp signal, or a predefined offset that can be used to increase the current provided to the output of the switching regulator. How to implement and use the ACC electronic circuit 136 is different and is described throughout the disclosure.

[0039] Figure 2 At 200, a diagram is shown including Figure 1 An example of a power system with an adaptive current controller 122 and ACC electronics 136 is shown. In this example, the power system 132 is operably coupled to a load 202 of a user device 102, which includes a processor 116, a CRM 118, a display 124, and a transceiver 126 of the user device 102. The power system 132 may receive input power from an external power source 204 (e.g., an external AC / DC adapter) or one or more battery cells 206 electrically coupled to a battery or battery pack of the user device 102. Switching electronics 208, which may include charging or other power management circuits, electrically couples the external power source 204 or the battery cell 206 to the switching regulator 134.

[0040] In general, the switching regulator 134 regulates power provided by the external power source 204 or the battery cell 206 to provide power to the components (e.g., the load 202) of the user device 102 at a voltage at which the components operate. For example, each of the switching regulators 134 can be configured as a single-phase or multi-phase switching regulator to provide power at different corresponding voltages, such as 3.3 volts (e.g., for the display 124), 1.8 volts (e.g., for the CRM 118), 1.0 volts, 0.9 volts, 0.7 volts (e.g., for the processor 116), etc. The voltage regulation and other functions of the switching regulator 134 can be controlled by a power management integrated circuit 210 (PMIC 210), which can include registers and logic for implementing one or more power regulation schemes, such as PFM, PWM, valley current mode, adaptive current control mode, etc.

[0041] In various configurations, the user device 102 and components of the user device 102 (such as the processor 116 and the transceiver 126) can have a variety of operating or power states, such as fully turned on, idle, standby, sleep, deep sleep, and off. Alternatively or additionally, some components (e.g., CPU or GPU) can also be configured for different performance states, such as maximum performance, nominal performance, power saving, etc. Therefore, the operating power and current consumed by the user device 102 and the components of the user device (e.g., load 202) can vary depending on the operating state, operating state transition, or use of the user device 102 (or separate components). In some cases, changes in the operating state or processing requirements of the user device 102 generate a corresponding increase in the current demand of the switching regulator. For example, when waking up from a low power state to a fully active state, the processor 116 (e.g., CPU and GPU) can create a load step of a transient load or current demand (e.g., tens of A / μSec) on one of the switching regulators 134 configured to provide power to the processor power rail.

[0042] The switching regulator 134 also includes or is associated with an ACC electronic circuit 136, which can interact with the current controller 122 to implement various aspects of adaptive current control. In some cases, the ACC electronic circuit 136 or the current controller 122 interacts with the PMIC 210 to affect or control the operation of the switching regulator 134. For example, the ACC electronic circuit 136 can generate pulses via an adder block or a comparator to mask the clock signal of the PMIC 210 or the switching regulator 134, or offset the output of the error amplifier, the output of which provides a current control signal based on the output of the switching regulator 134. In some aspects, the current controller 122 interacts with the PMIC 210 to detect or receive an indication of a switching regulator mode (e.g., PFM or PWM), or an indication of a transition between switching regulator modes (e.g., PFM to PWM). Alternatively or additionally, an instance of the current controller 122 can be embodied on the PMIC 210, a microcontroller, or other logic configured to manage the operation of the switching regulator 134.

[0043] Figure 3 An example configuration of a single-phase switching regulator including ACC electronics is illustrated at 300. In this example, an instance of adaptive current control circuit 136 and current controller 122 are operably coupled with switching regulator 134 configured as a single-phase regulator. Figure 3 The components and architectures shown are presented as non-limiting examples of ways in which adaptive current control can be implemented. Therefore, the various aspects described herein can be applied to or extended to any suitable switching power circuit to implement various features of adaptive current control. In addition, any coupling or connection between the various components can be direct or indirect, such as through one or more intermediate components. For the sake of visual simplicity and / or clarity, some irrelevant or redundant components (e.g., sensing resistors or operational amplifiers) or electronic circuits may also be omitted from this or other circuit diagrams. This omission should not be interpreted as a limitation, but rather as an example of various ways in which various aspects can be used or applied to circuits to implement adaptive current control. In other words, the various aspects described herein (e.g., electronic circuits) can also be implemented with any suitable number or combination of logic, registers, sensing electronic circuits, amplifiers, current mirrors, comparators, etc.

[0044] like Figure 3As shown, the switching regulator 134 (regulator 134) includes a first switching device 302 and a second switching device 304 coupled between an input power supply 306 and a lower potential (shown as ground 308). An inductor 310 of the regulator 134 is coupled between a switch node disposed between the first and second switching devices 302 and 304 and an output 312 of the regulator 134. In general, the first and second switching devices 302 and 304 regulate the current flow applied and from the input power supply 306 through the inductor 310 to the output 312 of the regulator 134 based on a drive signal provided by the PMIC 210. A load 314 (e.g., load 202) is coupled to the output 312, which can be modeled as a resistor or variable load on the regulator 134. The regulator 134 also includes an output capacitance, which is illustrated as an output capacitor 316, which can represent any suitable number, type, or size of output capacitors coupled to the output 312.

[0045] The regulator 134 is capable of operating in a variety of control modes, such as a valley current control mode and an adaptive current control mode (e.g., a hybrid stitching mode). In this example, the control electronics and signals of the regulator 134 include an error amplifier 318, a slope compensation ramp signal 320, a low-side sensing electronics 322, a current comparator 324, and a clock 326. Alternatively or additionally, the control electronics of the regulator 134 may also include a high-side sensing electronics 328 to sense the current (e.g., peak current) flowing into the inductor 310 through the first switching device 302. In various aspects, the error amplifier 318 receives a voltage indication and a reference voltage 330 at the output 312 of the regulator to provide a control signal 332 (V C 332), an error voltage or current control signal. In some embodiments, the error amplifier 318 may include a feed-forward resistor-capacitor network 334 (RC FF 334) to introduce a phase boost to compensate for the pole of the transfer function of the regulator 134. In general, the error amplifier 318 will generate an output or control signal 332 that attempts to force the voltage at the output 312 of the regulator 134 to match the reference voltage 330. Thus, the error amplifier output or control signal 332 may indicate a degree, threshold, or level from which the output current of the regulator 134 should be increased (e.g., from a voltage drop) to return to or meet a target voltage (e.g., 0.750 V) for power regulation.

[0046] The current comparator 324 may add the slope compensation ramp signal 320 to the control voltage 332 to provide a slope compensation signal for controlling current modulation of the regulator 134, such as during valley current control. The current comparator 324 may provide an indication of the current 336 (IS2_Sensed 336) is compared with the slope compensation signal to provide an output signal to set a reset-set flip-flop 338 (RS flip-flop 338). The RS flip-flop 338 is operably coupled to the PMIC 210 and can selectively control or activate the drive electronics for the first switch device 302 or the second switch device 304. In some cases, the RS flip-flop 338 is set when the current comparator detects or determines that the indication 336 of the current (e.g., the valley current) drops to or meets the compensation signal, at which time the first switch 302 is activated and the second switch 304 is deactivated.

[0047] Based on the output of the RS flip-flop 338, the first switching device 302 can apply current from the input power 306 to the inductor 310 to increase the current flow in the inductor. In valley current control, the first switching device 302 remains active and applies current to the inductor until the clock 326 resets the RS flip-flop 338, such as through an OR gate 340. Thus, in steady-state operation or valley current control mode, the current of the inductor 310 can be modulated based on the slope compensation signal and an indication of the low-side switch current in one operating phase and the clock 326 in a second operating phase. The OR gate 340 can also receive a current 342 (I ) provided by the high-side sensing electronic circuit of the current flowing through the first switching device 302. S1_Sensed 342) to enable the adaptive current control mode.

[0048] In various aspects of adaptive current control, the ACC electronic circuit 136 and / or the current controller 122 can manage or influence the operation of components of the regulator 134 to increase the current provided at the output 312, such as in response to a transient load or load step. The current controller 122 or the ACC electronic circuit 136 can implement an adaptive current control mode in which the operation of the regulator (e.g., inductor current flow) is managed based on a maximum current limit of the inductor 310 during a first phase and based on an offset current control signal (such as an offset output of the error amplifier 318) during a second phase. For example, the adaptive current controller 122 or the electronic circuit 136 can mask a signal of the clock 326, apply an offset to the control voltage 332 (e.g., the current control signal), or mask a slope compensation signal 320 from the current comparator 324. As shown in FIG. Figure 3As shown, the ACC electronic circuit 136 is coupled to the output of the error amplifier 318, the clock 326 (e.g., the clock circuit enable line), and the current comparator 324 of the regulator 134. In this example, the ACC electronic circuit 136 includes a transient comparator 344, an RS flip-flop 346, and AND gates 348 and 350, which are coupled to the output of the RS flip-flop 346. In general, the ACC electronic circuit 136 can generate one or more signals (such as pulses or masking signals) with appropriate timing and length to effectively cause the regulator 134 to provide an increased amount of current to quickly respond to a transient load or load step. The ACC electronic circuit 136 can then seamlessly transition or return the regulator 134 to a clock-based steady-state operation with minimal overshoot.

[0049] The current controller 122 may initiate adaptive current control or an adaptive current control mode in response to any suitable indication of a transient load or transient step at the output 312 of the regulator 134. In this example, a set input of the RS flip-flop 346 is coupled to an output of the PMIC 210 (not shown), logic, or another entity (e.g., the current controller 122) to receive an indication 352 of when the regulator 134 is to transition from a pulse frequency modulation (PFM) mode (e.g., light current load) to a pulse width modulation (PWM) mode (e.g., increased / heavy current load). Alternatively or additionally, the current controller 122 may initiate adaptive current control in response to detecting a sudden drop in the output voltage at the output 312 or detecting a rising edge of the output voltage provided by the error amplifier 318.

[0050] Back to Figure 3In response to the PFM / PWM transition 352, the output of the RS flip-flop 346 transitions to generate a mask signal 354 to the clock and an offset 356 to the current comparator. In some cases, the mask signal 354 and / or the offset 356 are or correspond to the start or initiation of an adaptive pulse during which the regulator 134 operates in an adaptive current control mode (e.g., to enable adaptive current control). The mask signal and the offset signal 354, 356 may be provided separately (e.g., without the other) or in combination, or buffered via AND gates 348 and 350. The mask signal 354 may mask the clock signal of the clock 326, disable the clock circuit, or otherwise prevent the clock 326 from interrupting or changing the current applied by the first switching device 302 to the inductor 310. In some cases, the offset 356 is applied to a current control signal (such as the control signal 332 provided by the error amplifier 318) to change the current control threshold (e.g., the valley current threshold) and enable an increased amount of current to flow into the inductor 310. Alternatively or additionally, the offset 356 or another signal generated by the logic of the ACC electronic circuit 136 may mask or disable the slope compensation signal 320 when the regulator 134 is operating in the adaptive current control mode.

[0051] In some aspects, the transient comparator 344 generates a signal as or corresponding to the end or termination of an adaptive pulse during which the regulator 134 operates in the adaptive current control mode (e.g., terminates the adaptive current control). In this example, the output of the transient comparator 344 of the ACC electronic circuit 136 is coupled to the reset input of the RS flip-flop 346, which generates the mask signal 354 and the offset 356. Figure 3 As shown, a first input of the transient comparator 344 may be coupled to the output of the error amplifier 318 to receive an indication 358 of the voltage or current based output of the error amplifier 318. Another input of the transient comparator 344 is coupled to the source of the transient ramp signal 360, although any fixed or variable threshold may be used.

[0052] In general, the transient comparator 344 may compare the output of the error amplifier 318 to the transient ramp 360 (or other signal) to detect a reduction in load on the output 312 of the regulator 134. In some cases, the reduction in load is detected relative to the amount of increased current provided to the output 312 by the adaptive current control mode and / or the amount of time that the regulator 134 implements adaptive current control. Thus, the transient ramp signal 360 may be configured or predefined to reduce overshoot of small current steps, or when the regulator 134 operates under adaptive current control for a longer duration (e.g., longer than 50 μSec).

[0053] In response to the indication 358 that the error amplifier output meets or falls below the transient ramp 360, the output of the transient comparator 344 transitions to positive to reset the RS flip-flop 346, which stops generating the masking signal 354 to the clock 326 and the offset 356 to the current comparator 324. Alternatively or additionally, the resetting of the RS flip-flop 346 may also unmask or restore the application of the slope compensation signal 320 to the current comparator 324 at the end of the adaptive current control mode. In this way, the generation of the masked clock 326 or the variable pulses corresponding to the operation according to the adaptive current control mode may be initiated based on the PFM / PWM transition 352 and terminated by the transient comparator 344. The transient comparator 344 may compare the output of the error amplifier 318 with the transient ramp signal 360, or any suitable variable or fixed signal.

[0054] In some aspects, the error amplifier 318 is implemented as an operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) that provides a current-based output signal or error current based on the output voltage of the regulator and the reference voltage 330. Because the current-based output signal or output current of the OTA amplifier is a current control signal V c 332, so zero is effectively introduced into the adaptive current control loop, which can increase the control bandwidth. In such an embodiment, the ACC electronic circuit 136 may also include a current-to-voltage (I / V) block or transimpedance amplifier (not shown) coupled between the error amplifier 318 and the current comparator 324 or between the error amplifier 318 and the transient comparator 344.

[0055] Thus, in some aspects of the adaptive current control, the transient comparator 344 compares the error amplifier current to a predefined voltage (e.g., the transient ramp 360) to determine when to reset the flip-flop 346 or end the variable length pulse generated by the adaptive current control, which changes the operation of the regulator 134 to increase the inductor current. In some cases, the ACC electronic circuit 136 includes a current mirror (not shown) coupled to the output of the error amplifier 318, so that the transient comparator 344 compares the mirror of the error amplifier current to the predefined voltage or transient ramp signal 360. Alternatively or additionally, any of the signals described with respect to the error amplifier 318, the current comparator 324, and / or the transient comparator 344 can be implemented as voltage-based or current-based signals, with the corresponding I / V or V / I blocks disposed between the source and target components as appropriate.

[0056] As another example, consider Figure 4, which illustrates an example configuration of a multiphase switching regulator 400 (multiphase regulator 400) including an ACC electronic circuit. In general, aspects of adaptive current control can be applied to a multiphase regulator configured with any suitable number of phases, such as two phases, three phases, four phases, etc. In this example, the multiphase regulator 400 is configured as a two-phase regulator having a first phase 402 and a second phase 404, although the aspects described can be applied or extended to additional phases. Figure 4 As shown, the first inductor 406 of the first phase 402 and the second inductor 408 of the second phase 404 are coupled to the output 410 of the multiphase regulator 400. Other components or signals associated with the phases may be configured to be coupled to the output 410 of the multiphase regulator 400 with respect to the phase 402 and / or the phase 404. Figure 3 The corresponding components described for the single-phase regulator may be similar or different.

[0057] In this example, the ACC electronic circuit 136 is operably coupled to the respective clocks 326 and current comparators 324 of the first phase 402 and the second phase 404 of the multi-phase regulator 400. In some aspects, the current controller 122 and / or the ACC electronic circuit 136 can initiate an adaptive current control or adaptive current control mode in response to any suitable indication of a transient load or transient step on the output 410 of the multi-phase regulator 400. For example, in response to the PFM / PWM transition 352, the ACC electronic circuit 136 can generate and provide a masking signal 354 to the clock 326 of the multi-phase regulator 400 and an offset signal 356 to the current comparator 324 of the multi-phase regulator 400 to increase the current flowing through the inductors 406 and 408.

[0058] In at least some aspects, advantages of adaptive current control include conveniently and easily commanding all phases of the multi-phase regulator 400 to a maximum inductor current ramp rate. This is due to the masking signal 356 blocking or delaying the normal clock signal and / or using the same peak current and error amplifier voltage to control the corresponding inductor current of each phase simultaneously. Alternatively or additionally, with the load step related derivation of the variable length pulse (e.g., the transient pulse of the ACC electronic circuit 136), the phase dropout signal (not shown) can also be masked to ensure that each and all phases of the multi-phase regulator operate (e.g., turn on) simultaneously. When the adaptive current control mode is terminated, this does not affect the phase dropout after the transient pulse ends (e.g., the restoration of the clock 326 and the slope compensation signal), so any impact on the regulator efficiency is minimal.

[0059] The ACC electronics 136 may also end or terminate the adaptive current control mode operation of the multi-phase regulator when the transient load subsides. For example, in response to the output of the error amplifier output meeting or falling below the transient ramp 360, the output of the transient comparator 344 transitions to positive to reset the RS flip-flop 346, which stops generating the masking signal 354 to the clock 326 and the offset 356 to the current comparator 324. Alternatively or additionally, the reset of the RS flip-flop 346 may also unmask or resume the application of the slope compensation signal 320 to the current comparator 324 at the end of the adaptive current control mode. In this way, the generation of the masked clock 326 or the variable length pulse corresponding to the operation according to the adaptive current control mode may be initiated based on the PFM / PWM transition 352 and terminated by the transient comparator 344 based on the output of the error amplifier 318 and the transient ramp signal 360 (or any suitable variable or fixed signal).

[0060] Example Method

[0061] Example methods 500, 600, and 900 are each described in accordance with one or more aspects of adaptive current control for fast transient response. Figure 5 , Fig. 6A and Figure 6B and Fig. 9 In general, methods 500, 600, and 900 illustrate a set of operations (or actions) that may be performed but are not necessarily limited to the order or combination of operations shown herein. In addition, any of one or more operations may be repeated, combined, reorganized, skipped, or chained to provide a wide range of additional and / or alternative methods. In the following discussion, reference may be made to Figure 1 Environment 100, Figures 2 to 4 electronic circuits or components, Fig.12 systems and / or Figure 1 The entities detailed in the description are referenced only as examples. The techniques and apparatus described in this disclosure are not limited to embodiments or performances of one entity or multiple entities running on one device or those described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0062] Figure 5 An example method 500 for implementing an adaptive current control mode (e.g., hybrid stitching mode) is illustrated, including operations performed by the current controller 122 and / or the ACC electronic circuit 136. In some aspects, the operations of the method 500 may be implemented by a power supply circuit of an electronic device to improve response to transient loads on the power supply circuit, thereby effectively reducing or avoiding output voltage droop.

[0063] At 502, an increase in load is detected at the output of a switching power regulator (regulator). In some cases, the load is detected based on a voltage at the regulator output. For example, the load may be detected based on a transition of the switching regulator from a PFM mode to a PWM mode, output voltage sag detection, an error voltage rising edge, an error current of an operational transconductance amplifier, or a similar combination.

[0064] At 504, an adaptive current control mode of the regulator is initiated. The adaptive current control mode prevents the clock of the regulator from affecting the current applied to the inductor of the regulator. In some cases, the adaptive current control mode includes generating a variable length pulse signal to mask the clock signal or offset the current control signal. In this case, the magnitude of the predefined offset applied to the current control signal can be configured based on the magnitude of the load on the output of the switching regulator (e.g., a load-dependent offset). When operating in the adaptive current control mode, this may be effective to increase the average amount of inductor current flowing through the inductor.

[0065] At 506, a first stage of an adaptive current control mode is implemented. Typically, the first stage of the adaptive current control mode includes applying a current to an inductor of the regulator until the inductor current reaches a maximum level. A first switching device or a high-side switching device of the switching regulator may be activated or fully opened to provide current to the inductor. The inductor current may be measured via a sensing electronic circuit operably coupled to a terminal (e.g., a source or a drain) of the first switching device.

[0066] At 508, the second stage of the adaptive current control mode is implemented. The second stage of the adaptive current control mode includes causing current to flow through the inductor based on the output voltage of the regulator until the inductor current reaches the current control level. The second switching device or low-side switching device of the switching regulator can be activated or fully opened to allow current to continue to flow through the inductor. The current flowing into the inductor can be measured via a sensing electronic circuit operably coupled to the terminal (e.g., source or drain) of the second switching device.

[0067] At 510, it is determined whether the load at the output of the switching regulator has decreased. The voltage level at the circuit output may be compared to a reference voltage to determine whether the load has decreased. In some cases, a current-based derivative of the current control signal is compared to a predefined ramp signal to detect a reduction in the load. In this case, the amplitude or rate of increase of the predefined ramp signal may be set or configured based on the load amplitude at the circuit output (e.g., a ramp signal that is load-dependent). Alternatively or additionally, setting the amplitude or rate of increase of the predefined ramp signal may also be effective to change the duration that the switching regulator operates in the adaptive current control mode.

[0068] From operation 510, the method 500 may return to operation 506 to implement another iteration of the first phase of the adaptive current control mode. For example, if the transient load or load step still exceeds the threshold amount of current provided at the output, the switching regulator may implement one or more additional iterations of the first phase and / or the second phase of the adaptive current control mode to further increase the inductor current provided to the output. Alternatively, the method 500 may proceed to operation 512 to transition the switching regulator from the adaptive current control mode to the steady-state mode. For example, it may be determined that the load demand on the output of the switching regulator has decreased to a level at which the steady-state mode can be maintained.

[0069] At operation 512, the switching regulator is transitioned from the adaptive current control mode to the steady-state mode. In the steady-state mode, such as the valley current mode, the clock of the switching regulator affects or controls the current applied to the inductor of the switching regulator. In some cases, the transition to the steady-state mode includes unmasking the clock signal, enabling the clock, restoring the slope compensation signal, removing the offset from the current control signal, etc. From operation 512 (e.g., after steady-state operation is restored), the method 500 can return to operation 502 to initiate another iteration of the method 500, such as in response to another load step or transient load on the output of the switching regulator.

[0070] Fig. 6A and Figure 6B An example method 600 is illustrated for masking a clock signal and activating a switching device of a switching regulator to increase an inductor current to an output of the switching regulator. In various implementations, the current controller 122 and / or the ACC electronic circuit 136 may perform or cause the operations of the method 600 .

[0071] At 602, a transient load is detected at an output of a switching regulator. The transient load may be detected in response to any suitable criteria, such as a PMIC of the switching regulator initiating a transition from a PFM mode to a PWM mode, an output voltage sag at the output of the switching regulator, a rising edge of an output voltage provided by an error amplifier, or a current-based output provided by an error amplifier configured as a transconductance operational amplifier.

[0072] For example, consider Figure 7 , which illustrates an example graph 700 of an inductor current regulated according to one or more aspects of adaptive current control. As shown in graph 700, a transient load 702 is applied to the output of a switching regulator configured to implement adaptive current control. Here, assuming reference Figure 3 Signals are described for a single-phase switching regulator and a PMIC of the switching regulator switching from a PFM mode to a PWM mode in response to detecting a sudden drop in output voltage.

[0073] At 604, the clock signal of the switching regulator is shielded to prevent the clock signal from interrupting the current applied to the inductor of the switching regulator. In some embodiments, the clock circuit can be disabled or deactivated to cause the clock circuit to stop the generation of the clock signal. Optionally, at 606, an offset is applied to the current control signal. Based on the load applied to the output of the switching regulator, the offset can be predefined or configurable. Typically, applying an offset to the current control signal is effective for increasing the average amount of current flowing in the inductor during at least a portion of the time when the clock signal is shielded. In the context of the present example, the clock signal is shielded at time 704, and a transient current offset is applied to the error amplifier output at 706.

[0074] Optionally, at 608, the slope compensation signal is shielded. Slope compensation may be shielded or blocked from being applied to the current control signal, for example, in addition to an offset applied to the current control signal. In some cases, the slope compensation signal is shielded or disabled in response to a pulse signal generated when the switching regulator operates in an adaptive current control mode. Shielding or blocking the slope compensation signal may effectively prevent the slope compensation signal from affecting the current applied to the inductor of the switching regulator. Figure 7 , the compensation signal is masked from the error amplifier output at time 708, such as when the adaptive current control mode is enabled.

[0075] At 610, a first switching device of a switching regulator is activated to start applying current to an inductor. The first switching device or high-side switching device can be fully opened to apply current from the input of the switching regulator to the inductor to ramp up the inductor current. In some cases, the amount of current flowing into or through the inductor is monitored via a sensing electronic circuit operably coupled to a terminal of the first switching device. In the context of this example, the gate of the top or high-side switching device is activated at 710 to ramp up the current in the inductor of the switching regulator.

[0076] At 612, in response to the amount of current flowing into the inductor satisfying a predefined threshold of a maximum current, a first switching device of the switching regulator is deactivated. For example, the amount of current flowing into the inductor can be compared to a predefined threshold of a maximum current to reset a drive logic associated with the first switching device. In some aspects, operations 610 and 612 are implemented as part of a first phase of an adaptive current control mode, where the application of current to the inductor current is regulated based on a threshold of a maximum inductor current. Continuing with the ongoing example, the gate of the top or high-side switching device is deactivated at 712 to stop applying current to the inductor of the switching regulator.

[0077] At 614, a second switching device of the switching regulator is activated to allow current to continue to flow through the inductor of the switching regulator. The second switch or low-side switching device can be fully opened to allow current to flow through the inductor from a lower potential. As current flows through the regulator, the amount of inductor current may decrease or decay over time. In some cases, the amount of current flowing through the inductor is monitored via sensing electronics operably coupled to the terminals of the second switching device. In the context of this example, the gate of the bottom or low-side transistor is activated at 714 to allow current to flow through the inductor. From Fig. 6A Operation 614 is shown to begin, and method 600 is as follows Figure 6B Proceed to operation 618 as shown at 616 in .

[0078] At 618, the amount of current flowing into the inductor is compared with the current control signal. The current control signal or threshold can be a voltage signal or current signal provided based on the difference between the output voltage of the switching regulator and the reference voltage. The current control signal can also include an offset, which is applied to increase the average amount of the inductor current. At 620, the second switching device is deactivated in response to the amount of current flowing into the inductor satisfying the current control signal. In some aspects, operations 614, 618, and 620 are implemented as part of the second phase of the adaptive current control mode, wherein the inductor current (e.g., drop or decay current) is adjusted based on the offset current control signal. Continuing with this example, when the inductor current meets the transient current offset signal (e.g., the error amplifier output plus the offset) at 716, the gate of the bottom or low-side transistor is deactivated.

[0079] Optionally, at 622, the first switching device of the regulator is activated to restart the application of current to the inductor. This may be effective to increase the amount of current flowing into the inductor and to the regulator output. In some cases, operation 622 is performed in response to determining that the transient load or load step still meets the predefined threshold (e.g., output voltage sag or voltage drop) for operating the switching regulator in the adaptive current control mode to provide the increased amount of current. As shown at 718, the gate of the top transistor is activated again to ramp up the current in the inductor until the peak current limit is reached again at 720.

[0080] Optionally, at 624, a reduction in transient load is detected at the output of the switching regulator. In some cases, the current or current mirror of the control signal provided by the error amplifier is compared to a predefined threshold for detecting a load reduction or transitioning the switching regulator to steady-state operation. Alternatively or additionally, the predefined threshold may include a ramp signal having an initial amplitude and / or a rate of increase configured based on the amplitude of the ramp signal (e.g., a load-dependent ramp signal). Configuring the amplitude or rate of increase of the predefined ramp signal may effectively change the duration that the switching regulator operates in the adaptive current control mode.

[0081] Optionally, at 626, the clock signal of the switching regulator is not masked. This can enable the clock to interrupt or control the current applied to the inductor of the switching regulator. In other words, in response to a reduction in the load at the output of the switching regulator, the switching regulator can transition from an adaptive current control mode to a steady-state PWM operation in which the clock controls the current applied to the inductor. In some cases, the switching regulator enters a valley current control mode at operation 626.

[0082] Optionally, at 628, if applied, the offset is removed from the current control signal, such as to restore the current control signal for steady-state operation. Optionally, at 630, the slope compensation signal may also be unmasked to restore the application of the signal to the current control signal. To summarize this example, when the error amplifier output falls at 722, the clock signal is restored at 724, and the slope compensation signal is restored at 726, and the switching regulator transitions to fixed frequency operation at 728.

[0083] By implementing adaptive current control, the voltage drop at the output of the switching regulator can be reduced for various levels of load steps. As another example, consider Figure 8 , which illustrates at 800 an example graph 802 of an output voltage and an example graph 804 of an inductor current for a switching regulator implementing adaptive current control. In response to a load step 806 of approximately 3.8 amps, the inductor current ramps up at 808 based on a peak or maximum current limit on the inductor of the switching regulator and an offset current control signal. By doing so, the voltage drop 810 at the output of the switching regulator can be reduced by approximately 50% from the nominal voltage compared to the performance of conventional fixed frequency switching. For example, under adaptive current control, the voltage may drop from 750mV to 680mV (-10%), while fixed frequency switching may typically drop to 590mV (-21%), at which point the CPU or GPU components may be unable to operate.

[0084] Fig. 9An example method 900 for implementing adaptive current control in a multi-phase power switching regulator is illustrated, including operations performed by the current controller 122 and / or the ACC electronic circuit 136. In some aspects, the operations of the method 900 may be implemented by a multi-phase power supply circuit of an electronic device to improve response to transient loads and reduce the amount of voltage drop associated with the transient loads.

[0085] At 902, a transient load is detected at an output of a multiphase switching regulator. The transient response may be detected based on one or more criteria, such as a transition from a PFM mode to a PWM mode, an output voltage sag at the output of the switching regulator, a rising edge of an output voltage provided by an error amplifier, or an increase in a current-based output provided by an error amplifier configured as a transconductance operational amplifier.

[0086] At 904, a clock circuit operatively coupled to a corresponding drive electronic circuit of a plurality of phases of a multi-phase switching regulator is disabled. In some cases, the clock signals of the plurality of phases of the multi-phase switching regulator are shielded. An offset may also be applied to a current control signal based on an output voltage of the switching regulator. Alternatively or additionally, when the clock circuit is disabled, a slope compensation signal may be stopped from being applied to the current control signal.

[0087] At 906, the corresponding high-side switches of the multiphase are activated to start the current flow in the corresponding inductors of the multiphase. The high-side switches can ramp up the corresponding current in the inductors of each phase of the multiphase while being turned on. At 908, in response to the amount of current flowing in the corresponding inductor reaching the maximum current threshold, the corresponding high-side switches of the multiphase are deactivated. For each phase, the amount of current flowing in the inductor can be compared with a threshold value of the maximum inductor current independent of the other phases. In other words, each inductor of the multiphase switching regulator can be ramped up to the maximum current before being deactivated.

[0088] For example, consider Fig.10 , which illustrates at 1000 an example inductor current graph 1002 and an example output voltage graph 1004 of a multi-phase switching regulator implementing various aspects of adaptive current control. In the context of a three-phase switching regulator, in response to detecting a load step, the high-side switches of all three phases are activated at 1006 to ramp up the corresponding inductor current until the current reaches a peak current limit. In other words, because the normal clock signal is delayed and all inductor currents are controlled simultaneously using the same peak current and error amplifier voltage (with an offset), all phases of the switching regulator can be commanded to a maximum inductor current ramp rate to increase the current at the regulator output in response to a transient load. As Fig.10As shown, by using the derived load step related transient pulses (e.g., clock masking and offset signals), the phase shedding signal can also be masked to ensure that all phases operate simultaneously. In this way, the adaptive current control may not affect the phase shedding after the transient load subsides, thereby minimizing the impact on the overall efficiency of the switching regulator.

[0089] At 910, the corresponding low side switch of multiphase is activated so that current can continue to flow through the corresponding inductor.The low side switch of each in multiphase can be activated independently of another low side switch, such as when reaching the maximum current threshold for the corresponding inductor.At 912, based on the comparison of the current amount flowing into the corresponding inductor and the current control signal provided by the error amplifier, the corresponding low side switch of multiphase is deactivated.In some cases, the current control signal is offset or increased so that a higher average current amount flows through the corresponding inductor.

[0090] Optionally, at 914, the respective high-side switches of the multi-phase are activated to restart current flow in the respective inductors. This may be effective to increase the amount of current flowing to the regulator output. In some cases, operation 914 is performed in response to determining that the transient load or load step still meets a predefined threshold (e.g., output voltage sag or voltage drop) for operating the multi-phase switching regulator in an adaptive current control mode. Fig.10 In the context of , the current controller reactivates the high-side switches of the three phases to restart the current flow and ramps up the current in the corresponding inductors again until the peak current limit is reached to increase the current flow to the output of the multi-phase switching regulator.

[0091] Optionally, at 916, the clock circuit is enabled to resume clock-based operation of the multiphase regulator. In some cases, the clock circuit is enabled in response to determining that a transient load or transient step on the output of the multiphase switching regulator has decreased or subsided. Enabling the clock circuit can include unmasking a clock signal of the switching regulator to enable clock-based or fixed-frequency control of the switching regulator. Alternatively or additionally, application of an offset to the current control signal can be stopped and / or application of a slope compensation signal to the current control signal can be resumed.

[0092] To summarize this example, the three-phase switching regulator returns to steady-state operation at 1008 after recovering from the drop in output voltage 1010. Here, note that by implementing adaptive current control, the multi-phase switching regulator can achieve similar voltage drop performance (-10% nominal voltage) with one-third of the output capacitance typically used by fixed frequency switching regulators. Thus, in some embodiments, aspects of adaptive current control can reduce the cost, manufacturing complexity, and design space associated with the switching regulator output capacitance by approximately 66%. This in turn can improve the price, battery life, and competitiveness of devices with switching regulators implementing adaptive current control.

[0093] As another example, consider Fig.11 , which illustrates at 1100 an example output voltage graph 1102 and an example inductor current graph 1104 for a multiphase switching regulator implementing adaptive current control. In this example, a load step 1106 of 6 amps and a load step 1108 of 12 amps with a slew rate of 120A / μSec are applied to the output of the multiphase switching regulator. As shown, the implementation of adaptive current control greatly improves the transient response to these large load steps. By ramping up the inductor current in the three inductors of the multiphase switching regulator, the voltage drop at 1110 and 1112 is reduced to prevent interruption of components (such as CPUs and GPUs) coupled to the output of the multiphase switching regulator. By doing so, this can eliminate the need to limit current-intensive CPU / GPU components, thereby improving or maintaining device performance and improving user experience.

[0094] Example System

[0095] Fig.12 An example system on a chip (SoC) is illustrated that can implement various aspects of adaptive current control for transient load response. The SoC 1200 can be embodied as or in any type of user device 102, user equipment, apparatus, other device, or system, such as reference Figure 1-11 Although described with reference to a chip-based package, Fig.12 The components shown in may also be embodied as other systems or component configurations, such as but not limited to power management integrated circuits (PMIC), power regulation circuits, switch mode power supplies (SMPS), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application specific standard products (ASSPs), digital signal processors (DSPs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), system-in-package (SiP), package-on-package (PoP), processing and communication chipsets, communication coprocessors, sensor coprocessors, etc.

[0096] In this example, the SoC 1200 includes a communication transceiver 1202 and a wireless modem 1204 that implement wired or wireless communication of data 1206 (e.g., received data, data being received, data scheduled for broadcast, packetized data, etc.). In some aspects, the wireless modem 1204 is implemented as a multi-mode multi-band modem or baseband processor that can be configured to communicate according to various communication protocols and / or in different frequency bands. The wireless modem 1204 may include a transceiver interface (not shown) for communicating encoded or modulated signals with transceiver electronics and / or controlling a radio frequency (RF) front end.

[0097] Data 1206 or other system content may include configuration settings for the system or various components (e.g., various current thresholds as described herein), media content stored by the system, and / or information associated with system users. The media content stored on the system-on-chip 1200 may include any type of audio, video, and / or image data. The system-on-chip 1200 also includes one or more data inputs 1208, through which any type of data, media content, and / or input may be received, such as user input, user-selectable input (explicit or implicit), or any other type of audio, video, and / or image data received from a content and / or data source. Alternatively or additionally, the data input 1208 may include various data interfaces, which may be implemented as any one or more of a serial and / or parallel interface, a wireless interface, a network interface, and any other type of communication interface that implements communication with other devices or systems.

[0098] The system-on-chip 1200 includes one or more processor cores 1210 that process various computer-executable instructions to control the operation of the system-on-chip 1200 and enable adaptive current control techniques for fast transient response. Alternatively or additionally, the system-on-chip 1200 may be implemented in any one or combination of hardware, firmware, or fixed logic electronic circuitry implemented in conjunction with processing and control circuits, which are generally shown at 1212. Although not shown, the system-on-chip 1200 may also include a bus, interconnect, crossbar, or structure that couples various components within the system.

[0099] The system 1200 also includes a memory 1214 (e.g., a computer-readable medium), such as one or more memory circuits, which enable persistent and / or non-transitory data storage and therefore do not include transient signals or carrier waves. Examples of memory 1214 include ROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, or flash memory. The memory 1214 provides data storage for system data 1206 as well as firmware 1216, applications 1218, and any other type of information and / or data related to operational aspects of the system on chip 1200. For example, the firmware 1216 can be maintained as processor-executable instructions of an operating system (e.g., a real-time OS) within the memory 1214 and executed on one or more processor cores 1210.

[0100] The applications 1218 may include a system manager, such as any form of control application, software application, signal processing and control module, local code for a particular system, abstraction module or gesture module, etc. The memory 1214 may also store system components or utilities for implementing various aspects of adaptive current control for fast transient response, such as the adaptive current controller 122 (current controller 122) and registers (not shown) for configurable current thresholds and offsets. The current controller 122 and registers may be embodied as combined or separate components, examples of which are shown in FIG. Figure 1-11 The corresponding entities or functions shown are described.

[0101] In some aspects, the system on chip 1200 also includes additional processors or co-processors to enable other functions, such as a graphics processor 1220, an audio processor 1222, and an image sensor processor 1224. The graphics processor 1220 can render graphical content associated with a user interface, an operating system, or an application of the system on chip 1200. In some cases, the audio processor 1222 encodes or decodes audio data and signals, such as audio signals and information associated with a voice call or encoded audio data for playback. The image sensor processor 1224 can be coupled to an image sensor and provide image data processing, video capture, and other visual media conditioning and processing functions.

[0102] The processor and coprocessor of the system-on-chip 1200 may be operatively coupled to an instance of a switching regulator 134 implemented in or with the system-on-chip 1200. The switching regulator 134 may include a single-phase or multi-phase switching regulator, such as described with reference to FIG. Figure 1-11The system on chip 1200 is also implemented with ACC electronics 136, which is operably coupled to the switching regulator 134 and the current controller 122. In some aspects, the current controller 122 and the adaptive current control electronics 136 can interact with the switching regulator 134 to implement adaptive current control in the system on chip 1200 for fast transient response as described herein.

[0103] The system on chip 1200 may also include a security processor 1226 to support various security, encryption and cryptographic operations, such as providing secure communication protocols and encrypted data storage. Although not shown, the security processor 1226 may include one or more cryptographic engines, cryptographic libraries, hash modules or random number generators to support encryption and cryptographic processing of information or communications of the system on chip 1200. Alternatively or additionally, the system on chip 1200 may include a positioning and location engine 1228 and a sensor interface 1230. Typically, the positioning and location engine 1228 can provide positioning or location data (e.g., dead reckoning navigation) by processing signals of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and / or other motion or inertial sensor data. The sensor interface 1230 enables the system on chip 1200 to receive data from various sensors, such as capacitive and motion sensors.

[0104] Variants

[0105] Although the above-described apparatus and methods are described in the context of adaptive current control of switching power regulators for user equipment, power circuits, and electronic systems, the described apparatus, systems, and methods are non-limiting and may be applied to other contexts, user equipment configurations, or power conversion environments.

[0106] In general, the components, modules, methods, and operations described herein may be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods may be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage memory local and / or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations may include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Alternatively or additionally, any of the functions described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components, such as, but not limited to, a PMIC, FPGA, ASIC, ASSP, SoC, CPLD, coprocessor, context hub, motion coprocessor, sensor coprocessor, and the like.

[0107] In a first method implemented by a switching power regulator to increase output current in response to an increase in load on the switching power regulator, the method includes detecting an increase in load at the output of the switching power regulator, in response to the increase in load, initiating an adaptive current control mode of the switching power regulator, in which a clock of the switching power regulator is prevented from affecting application of current to an inductor of the switching power regulator, and implementing a first stage of the adaptive current control mode, in which the current is applied from an input of the switching power regulator to the inductor of the switching power regulator via a first switching device until the inductor current reaches a predetermined maximum current. level, implement a second stage of the adaptive current control mode, in which the current is enabled to flow through the inductor via the second switching device from a potential lower than the input of the switching power regulator until the inductor current reaches a current control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator, and when the switching power regulator operates in the adaptive current control mode, detects a reduction in the load at the output, and in response to the reduction in the load at the output, switches the switching power regulator to operate in a steady-state mode, in which the clock of the switching power regulator affects the current applied to the inductor of the switching power regulator.

[0108] In addition to the first method described above, an apparatus for regulating electric power includes a first switching device coupled to an input of a circuit, an inductor having a first end coupled to the first switching device and a second end coupled to an output of the circuit, a second switch coupled between the first end of the inductor and a potential below the input of the circuit, first and second sensing electronic circuits configured to provide first and second indications of current flowing through the first and second switching devices, respectively, a clock of a drive electronic circuit operably coupled to the first switching device and the second switching device, a current comparator having an output operably coupled to the drive electronic circuit and a first input operably coupled to the second sensing electronic circuit, an error amplifier having an input operably coupled to the output of the circuit and an output coupled to a second input of the current comparator, and an adaptive current controller. The adaptive current controller is configured to detect an increase in load at the output of the circuit, in response to the increase in load, cause the circuit to operate in an adaptive current control mode in which a clock of the circuit is prevented from affecting the application of current to an inductor of the circuit, implement a first stage of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is applied to the inductor via the first switching device until a first indication of current flowing through the inductor reaches a predetermined level of maximum inductor current, implement a second stage of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is enabled to flow through the inductor via the second switching device until the current comparator determines that a second indication of current flowing through the inductor reaches a current control signal provided via the output of the error amplifier; while the circuit is operating in the adaptive current control mode, detect a decrease in load at the output, and in response to the decrease in load at the output, transition the circuit from the adaptive current control mode to operate in a steady-state mode in which a clock of the circuit affects the application of current to the inductor of the circuit.

[0109] In addition to the above methods and apparatus, a second method implemented by a switching power regulator to increase output current in response to a transient load on the switching power regulator includes detecting a transient load at an output of the switching power regulator, in response to detecting the transient load, shielding a clock signal of the switching power regulator to prevent the clock signal from interrupting application of current to an inductor of the switching power regulator, activating a first switching device of the switching power regulator to initiate application of the current to the inductor of the switching power regulator, sensing an amount of current flowing into the inductor at a first node operatively coupled to the first switching device to provide a first indication of current flow of the inductor, in response to the first indication of current flow satisfying a predefined threshold of a maximum inductor current, deactivating the first switching device, and in response to deactivating the first switching device. The first switching device activates a second switching device of the switching power regulator so that the current continues to flow through the inductor, senses the amount of current flowing into the inductor at a second node operably coupled to the second switching device to provide a second indication of the current flow in the inductor, compares the second indication of the current flow with a control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator when the second switching device is activated, deactivates the second switching device in response to the second indication of the current flow satisfying the control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator, and activates the first switching device to restart applying the current to the inductor of the switching power regulator, thereby effectively increasing the amount of current flowing into the inductor and to the output of the switching power regulator.

[0110] In addition to any of the methods or apparatus above, operating the switching power regulator in the adaptive current control mode further includes applying a predefined offset to the current control signal to effectively increase an average amount of inductor current flowing through the inductor.

[0111] In addition to any of the methods or apparatus above, operating the switching power regulator in the adaptive current control mode further includes comparing a current-based derivative of the current control signal to a predefined ramp signal to detect a reduction in load at the output.

[0112] In addition to any of the methods or apparatus above, operating the switching power regulator in the adaptive current control mode further includes shielding a slope compensation signal applied to the current control signal during the steady-state mode operation to prevent the slope compensation signal from affecting current applied to the inductor.

[0113] In addition to any of the methods or apparatus described above, a predefined offset applied to the current control signal is configured based on the magnitude of the load at the output of the switching power regulator, or an amplitude or rate of increase of a predetermined ramp signal compared to a derivative of the current control signal is configured based on the magnitude of the load at the output of the switching power regulator.

[0114] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, implementing a first stage of an adaptive current control mode includes, at a first node operably coupled to the first switching device, sensing an amount of current applied to an inductor of the switching power regulator to provide a first indication of the inductor current, and deactivating the first switching device in response to the first indication of the inductor current satisfying a predefined threshold of the maximum current level; or implementing a second stage of an adaptive current control mode includes, at a second node operably coupled to the second switching device, sensing an amount of current flowing through the inductor of the switching power regulator to provide a second indication of the inductor current, and when the second switching device is activated, comparing the second indication of the inductor current with a control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator.

[0115] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, an increase in load at the output of the switching power regulator is detected based on at least one of: the switching power regulator transitions from a pulse frequency modulation (PFM) mode to a pulse width modulation (PWM) mode, an output voltage drop at the output of the switching power regulator, a rising edge of the output voltage is provided by an error amplifier operably coupled to the output of the switching power regulator that provides the current control signal, or a current-based output is provided by the error amplifier operably coupled to the output of the switching power regulator.

[0116] In addition to any of the methods or apparatus above, the circuit is configured to apply an offset to an output signal of the error amplifier to effectively increase an average amount of current flowing into the inductor during at least a portion of the time when the circuit operates in the adaptive current control mode.

[0117] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, the circuit further comprises at least one logic gate configured to generate the offset in response to detecting the transient load at the output of the circuit, and a comparator configured to compare a current-based voltage indication at the output of the circuit with a predefined ramp signal to switch the circuit to the steady-state mode or stop generating the offset, and in response to the current-based indication no longer exceeding the predefined ramp signal, switch the circuit to the steady-state mode, or stop generating the offset in response to the current-based indication no longer exceeding the predefined threshold.

[0118] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, the adaptive current controller is further configured to set the magnitude of an offset applied to the current control signal based on the magnitude of the load at the output of the circuit, or to set the magnitude or rate of increase of a predefined ramp signal compared to the current-based voltage indication based on the magnitude of the load at the output of the circuit.

[0119] In addition to any of the methods or apparatus above, the magnitude or rate of increase of the predetermined ramp signal is set based on the magnitude of the load at the output of the circuit to effectively change the duration that the circuit operates in the adaptive current control mode.

[0120] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, the circuit is configured as a multi-phase power regulation circuit, a first switching device, an inductor, a second switching device and a current comparator, the current comparator being configured as a first phase of the multi-phase power regulation circuit, the multi-phase power regulation circuit including at least a second phase having another inductor, and during the adaptive current control mode operation, preventing the clock of the circuit from affecting current applied to the inductor of at least the first phase and another inductor of at least the second phase of the multi-phase power regulation circuit.

[0121] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, an offset is applied to the control signal during at least a portion of the time during which the clock signal is masked to effectively increase an average amount of current flowing in the inductor, and / or the offset applied to the control signal is configured based on the magnitude of a transient load at the output of the switching power regulator so that the magnitude of the offset corresponds to the magnitude of the transient load at the output of the switching power regulator.

[0122] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, in response to detecting a transient load at the output of the switching power regulator, a current corresponding to a control signal based on the output voltage is compared to a predefined threshold for unmasking a clock signal or stopping generating an offset, and the clock signal is unmasked in response to the current no longer exceeding the predefined threshold, or the offset is stopped in response to the current no longer exceeding the predefined threshold.

[0123] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, the predefined threshold is a ramp signal that increases over time, and also includes generating the ramp signal based on a predetermined setting of the rate at which the ramp signal increases or the amplitude of the ramp signal, and / or configuring the predetermined setting of the rate or amplitude of the ramp signal based on the amplitude of a transient load at the output of the switching power regulator.

[0124] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, applying a slope compensation signal to a control signal based on an output voltage of the switching power regulator is stopped while applying an offset to the control signal to effectively prevent the slope compensation signal from affecting current applied to an inductor of the switching power regulator.

[0125] In addition to any of the above methods or apparatus, detecting a reduction in a transient load at the output of a switching power regulator and in response to detecting the reduction in the transient load: unmasking a clock signal of the switching power regulator to implement clock-based control of the switching power regulator based on at least the clock signal and a second indication of current flow in the inductor, ceasing to apply an offset to a control signal based on an output voltage of the switching power regulator, or resuming application of a slope compensation signal to a control signal based on the output voltage of the power regulator.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a switching power regulator to increase output current in response to an increase in load on the switching power regulator, the method comprising: detecting the increase in the load at the output of the switching power regulator; In response to the increase in the load, initiating an adaptive current control mode of the switching power regulator, in which a clock of the switching power regulator is prevented from affecting current applied to an inductor of the switching power regulator; implementing a first phase of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is applied to the inductor of the switching power regulator via a first switching device and from an input of the switching power regulator until the inductor current reaches a predefined level of maximum current; implementing a second phase of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is enabled to flow through the inductor via a second switching device and from a potential below the input of the switching power regulator until the inductor current reaches a current control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator increased by an offset; detecting a reduction in the load at the output while the switching power regulator is operating in the adaptive current control mode; as well as In response to the reduction in the load at the output, the switching power regulator is switched to operate in a steady-state mode in which the clock of the switching power regulator affects the current applied to the inductor of the switching power regulator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: Operating the switching power regulator in the adaptive current control mode further includes applying the offset to the current control signal to effectively increase an average amount of the inductor current flowing through the inductor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: Operating the switching power regulator in the adaptive current control mode further includes comparing a current-based derivative of the current control signal to a predefined ramp signal to detect the reduction in the load at the output.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: Operating the switching power regulator in the adaptive current control mode further includes shielding a slope compensation signal applied to the current control signal during the steady-state mode of operation to prevent the slope compensation signal from affecting current applied to the inductor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first stage of implementing the adaptive current control mode includes: sensing, at a first node operatively coupled to the first switching device, an amount of the current applied to the inductor of the switching power regulator to provide a first indication of the inductor current; and deactivating the first switching device in response to the first indication of the inductor current flow satisfying a predefined threshold of the maximum current level; or implementing the second stage of the adaptive current control mode comprises: sensing, at a second node operatively coupled to the second switching device, an amount of the current flowing through the inductor of the switching power regulator to provide a second indication of the inductor current; and The second indication of the inductor current is compared to the control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator when the second switching device is activated.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, further comprising detecting the increase in the load at the output of the switching power regulator based on at least one of: The switching power regulator is converted from a pulse frequency modulation (PFM) mode to a pulse width modulation (PWM) mode; an output voltage sag at the output of the switching power regulator; a rising edge of an output voltage provided by an error amplifier operably coupled to the output of the switching power regulator providing the current control signal; as well as A current-based output is provided by the error amplifier operably coupled to the output of the switching power regulator.

7. A circuit for regulating electric power, comprising: a first switching device coupled to an input of the circuit; an inductor having a first end coupled to the first switching device and a second end coupled to an output of the circuit; a second switch coupled between the first end of the inductor and a potential below the input of the circuit; first and second sensing electronic circuits configured to provide first and second indications of current flowing through the first and second switching devices, respectively; a clock operably coupled to drive electronics of the first switching device and the second switching device; a current comparator having an output operably coupled to the drive electronics and a first input operably coupled to the second sense electronics; an error amplifier having an input operatively coupled to the output of the circuit and an output coupled to a second input of the current comparator; as well as An adaptive current controller, wherein the adaptive current controller is configured to: detecting an increase in load at the output of the circuit; responsive to the increase in the load, operating the circuit in an adaptive current control mode in which the clock of the circuit is prevented from affecting current applied to the inductor of the circuit; implementing a first phase of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is applied to the inductor via the first switching device until the first indication of the current flowing through the inductor reaches a predefined level of maximum inductor current; implementing a second phase of the adaptive current control mode in which the current is enabled to flow through the inductor via the second switching device until the current comparator determines that the second indication of the current flowing through the inductor reaches a current control signal provided via the output of the error amplifier with an offset increased; detecting a reduction in the load at the output when the circuit is operating in the adaptive current control mode; as well as In response to the reduction in the load at the output, the circuit is caused to transition from the adaptive current control mode to operate in a steady-state mode in which the clock of the circuit affects the current applied to the inductor of the circuit.

8. The circuit of claim 7 further comprising an electronic circuit configured to apply the offset to the output signal of the error amplifier to effectively increase an average amount of the current flowing into the inductor during at least a portion of the time that the circuit operates in the adaptive current control mode.

9. The circuit of claim 8, wherein: The electronic circuit further comprises: at least one logic gate configured to generate the offset in response to detecting a transient load at the output of the circuit; and A comparator, the comparator being configured to: comparing a current-based indication of a voltage at the output of the circuit to a predefined ramp signal to switch the circuit to the steady-state mode or to stop generating the offset; and In response to the current-based indication no longer exceeding the predefined ramp signal, transitioning the circuit to the steady-state mode; or Responsive to the current-based indication no longer exceeding the predefined threshold, generating the offset is stopped.

10. The circuit of claim 9, wherein: The adaptive current controller is further configured to: setting the magnitude of the offset applied to the current control signal based on the magnitude of the load at the output of the circuit; or The magnitude or rate of increase of the predefined ramp signal to which the current-based indication of the voltage is compared is set based on the magnitude of the load at the output of the circuit.

11. A circuit as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein: The circuit is configured as a multi-phase power conditioning circuit; The first switching device, the inductor, the second switching device, and the current comparator are configured as a first phase of the multi-phase power conditioning circuit; The multi-phase power conditioning circuit includes at least a second phase having another inductor; as well as During the adaptive current control mode of operation, the clock of the circuit is prevented from affecting current application to the inductor of at least the first phase and the another inductor of at least the second phase of the multi-phase power conditioning circuit.

12. A method implemented by a switching power regulator to increase output current in response to a transient load on the switching power regulator, the method comprising: detecting the transient load at an output of the switching power regulator; In response to detecting the transient load, shielding a clock signal of the switching power regulator to prevent the clock signal from interrupting current applied to an inductor of the switching power regulator; activating a first switching device of the switching power regulator to initiate application of the current to the inductor of the switching power regulator; sensing, at a first node operatively coupled to the first switching device, an amount of the current flowing into the inductor to provide a first indication of current flow in the inductor; responsive to the first indication of current flow satisfying a predefined threshold for maximum inductor current, deactivating the first switching device; activating a second switching device of the switching power regulator in response to deactivating the first switching device to enable the current to continue to flow through the inductor; sensing, at a second node operatively coupled to the second switching device, an amount of current flowing into the inductor to provide a second indication of current flow in the inductor; comparing the second indication of current flow to a control signal based on an output voltage of the switching power regulator increased by an offset when the second switching device is activated; responsive to the second indication of current flow satisfying the control signal based on the output voltage of the switching power regulator, deactivating the second switching device; as well as The first switching device is activated to restart application of the current to the inductor of the switching power regulator to effectively increase an amount of the current flowing into the inductor and to the output of the switching power regulator.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: applying the offset to the control signal to effectively increase an average amount of the current flowing in the inductor during at least a portion of the time during which the clock signal is masked; or Based on a magnitude of the transient load at the output of the switching power regulator, the offset applied to the control signal is configured such that a magnitude of the offset corresponds to the magnitude of the transient load at the output of the switching power regulator.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: generating the offset in response to detecting the transient load at the output of the switching power regulator; comparing a current corresponding to the control signal based on the output voltage with a predefined threshold for unmasking the clock signal or stopping generating the offset; as well as In response to the current no longer exceeding the predefined threshold, unmasking the clock signal; or In response to the current no longer exceeding the predefined threshold, generating the offset is stopped.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein: The predefined threshold is a ramp signal that increases over time, and the method further comprises: generating the ramp signal based on a predefined setting of a rate at which the ramp signal increases or an amplitude of the ramp signal; and The predefined setting of the rate or the amplitude of the ramp signal is configured based on a magnitude of the transient load at the output of the switching power regulator.

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