Internal Voltage Generating Circuit Driver Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional internal voltage generating circuits in semiconductor memory apparatuses face issues with insufficient current supply, leading to malfunctions when external power supply voltage is reduced, and increasing driver size to address this results in over-voltage application to internal circuits.
Innovation Solution
The proposed internal voltage generating circuit employs multiple drivers and a driver control unit to adjust the number of drivers based on internal voltage levels, ensuring sufficient current supply while maintaining stable voltage levels, and includes comparison units and voltage dividing units to manage reference and division voltages effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the driver size is increased to increase current supply capability, then current supply is improved, but internal voltage becomes excessively high causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The driver is divided into multiple sub-drivers (first driver, second driver, third driver, fourth driver) that operate in parallel. Each sub-driver contributes a portion of the total current, allowing the system to achieve high current supply capability without requiring a single oversized driver that would generate excessive voltage. The segmented structure enables fine-grained control over current delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver configuration is made dynamic through the driver control unit, which selectively activates or deactivates specific sub-drivers based on real-time monitoring of external power supply voltage levels. When voltage drops, more sub-drivers are activated to increase current supply; when voltage is adequate, fewer sub-drivers operate to prevent over-voltage conditions. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between needing high current and avoiding excessive voltage.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the external power supply voltage is reduced to implement low power operation, then power consumption is reduced, but current supply becomes insufficient causing malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes operational parameters dynamically by adjusting the number of active sub-drivers based on the external power supply voltage level. When voltage is reduced for low-power operation, the driver control unit activates additional sub-drivers to compensate for the reduced voltage, maintaining sufficient current supply. This parameter adjustment allows the system to operate efficiently at low power while preventing current deficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver control unit continuously monitors the external power supply voltage and uses this feedback information to determine how many sub-drivers should be activated. This closed-loop control ensures that when voltage drops (low power mode), the system responds by increasing the number of active drivers to maintain adequate current supply, thus resolving the contradiction between low power consumption and sufficient current delivery.
3Power
If multiple drivers are activated to increase current supply, then current supply is improved, but voltage stability becomes difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The driver control unit implements feedback control by continuously monitoring the internal voltage generated by the plurality of drivers and adjusting the number of active drivers accordingly. When internal voltage rises too high due to multiple drivers being active, the control unit deactivates some drivers to bring voltage back to the acceptable range. This feedback mechanism maintains voltage stability while allowing flexible current supply adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the configuration of active drivers based on real-time voltage conditions. The driver control unit selectively activates or deactivates specific sub-drivers to maintain internal voltage within a stable range, even as the number of active drivers changes to meet varying current demands. This dynamic control resolves the contradiction between providing high current and maintaining voltage stability.
Data Source
AI summary
An internal voltage generating circuit of a semiconductor memory apparatus includes a first voltage generating unit to output a first output voltage to a common node, the first output voltage is generated in response to a first reference voltage, and a second voltage generating unit to output a second output voltage to the common node, the second output voltage is generated in response to a second reference voltage.