Parallel Operational Amplifiers for Fault Tolerant Voltage Regulation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical circuits are prone to failure due to excessive current and voltage caused by ionizing radiation, leading to single-point failures that can render entire systems inoperative, necessitating a fault-tolerant solution to maintain operation.
Innovation Solution
A fault-tolerant voltage regulator utilizing a plurality of operational transconductance amplifiers configured in parallel, each with an input stage of MOSFETs operating in a class B transfer function, to equally share load current and provide redundancy, ensuring continued operation even if one amplifier fails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single operational amplifier is used in the voltage regulator, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability is poor due to single-point failure from ionizing radiation
Solution Approach 1:
The voltage regulator is divided into multiple independent operational amplifiers (at least two) that operate in parallel, each capable of independently regulating the output voltage. This segmentation allows the system to tolerate failures in individual amplifiers while maintaining overall functionality, directly addressing the reliability concern without excessive complexity increase
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameter configuration by setting each operational amplifier to operate at a different bias current level. This parameter differentiation ensures that amplifiers do not exactly replicate each other's failure modes, particularly regarding ionizing radiation effects, thereby improving fault tolerance while maintaining manageable device complexity
2Reliability
If multiple operational amplifiers are used in parallel, then the reliability increases through redundancy, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple operational amplifiers are configured to perform the same universal function of voltage regulation in parallel. Each amplifier is designed with identical input-output connectivity and control signal routing, allowing them to interchangeably fulfill the regulation function. This universal configuration simplifies the overall system design despite having multiple components, as each unit follows the same template
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements more operational amplifiers than the minimum single-unit requirement, creating excessive redundancy. This partial over-provisioning ensures that even if one or more amplifiers fail due to ionizing radiation or other issues, sufficient amplifiers remain to maintain proper voltage regulation, achieving enhanced reliability without requiring complex failure detection and recovery mechanisms
3Reliability
If operational amplifiers operate at the same bias current, then the design is simple, but the fault tolerance against ionizing radiation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Each operational amplifier is assigned a distinct local quality in terms of bias current configuration. Rather than uniform biasing across all amplifiers, each unit operates at a specifically differentiated current level. This local differentiation ensures that radiation-induced failures affecting one amplifier's bias conditions are less likely to simultaneously affect others, improving radiation tolerance while adding manageable configuration complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A fault tolerant voltage regulator may include a plurality of operational transconductance amplifiers. The plurality of operational transconductance amplifiers may be configured according to a unity-gain configuration. The plurality of operational transconductance amplifiers may be configured to couple in parallel to a load. The plurality of operational transconductance amplifiers may be configured to load share a load current associated with the load approximately equally among the plurality of operational transconductance amplifiers.