Dual-Stage Chip Voltage Regulation for Flexible Power Partitioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing voltage regulator arrangements for integrated circuits are costly, complex, and inefficient, leading to increased circuit board and package costs, as well as reduced battery life and performance due to unnecessary power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A dual-stage voltage regulation system comprising an external switching voltage regulator and on-chip low-dropout regulators, dynamically configured to provide variable output voltages based on real-time circuit demands, reducing off-chip circuitry and optimizing power efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple external buck regulators are used for each partition, then voltage selection flexibility is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple buck regulator functions are merged into a single multi-output buck regulator device. This single regulator provides multiple independently controllable outputs that can serve different partitions, reducing the total number of regulator components and simplifying circuit board and package design while maintaining voltage selection flexibility for each partition.
Solution Approach 2:
The external buck regulator is designed with multi-functionality to serve multiple partitions simultaneously. It provides multiple outputs that can be independently configured to different voltage levels, allowing one regulator device to perform the function of multiple separate regulators, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
2Power
If buck regulators are provisioned for maximum power, then power delivery capability is improved, but power efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The buck regulator operates dynamically by adjusting its output based on actual partition power demands rather than being provisioned for maximum static power. The regulator can scale its operation to match real-time requirements, maintaining high efficiency at lower power levels while still being capable of delivering maximum power when needed, thus resolving the contradiction between power capability and efficiency.
3Quantity of substance
If second stage buck regulators are integrated on-chip, then current provisioning is optimized, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex buck regulator circuitry is extracted from the integrated circuit chip and placed in a separate external regulator device. This extraction simplifies chip manufacturing while maintaining efficient current provisioning capabilities through the external regulator's multiple outputs that can be independently controlled to match partition requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
The described embodiments include an apparatus that controls voltages for an integrated circuit chip having a set of circuits. The apparatus includes a switching voltage regulator separate from the integrated circuit chip and two or more low dropout (LDO) regulators fabricated on the integrated circuit chip. During operation, the switching voltage regulator provides an output voltage that is received as an input voltage by each of the two or more LDO regulators, and each of the two or more LDO regulators provides a local output voltage, each local output voltage received as a local input voltage by a different subset of circuits in the set of circuits