Voltage Booster Charge Pump Series Capacitor Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Charge pumps often operate beyond their safe operating area, leading to excessive stress and reduced useful life due to high potential drops across capacitors, especially in stages near the output, which can result in damage and premature failure.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating two capacitors in series for critical stages, with a resistor dynamically biasing an intermediate terminal to divide potential drops below the maximum tolerable value, and applying similar configurations to conditioning capacitors to manage voltage drops within safe limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If the number of multiplication stages is increased to achieve higher output voltage, then the output voltage increases, but the potential drop across capacitors in later stages exceeds the maximum tolerable value
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides each pumping capacitor into multiple sub-capacitors connected in series. This segmentation allows the total voltage across the capacitor to be distributed across multiple smaller voltage drops, each within safe operating limits. For example, a pumping capacitor is divided into several sub-capacitors, and an intermediate terminal is introduced to tap a portion of the voltage, ensuring no single capacitor experiences excessive stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate terminal as a mediator that taps a portion of the voltage from the pumping capacitor. This intermediate terminal is connected to a control circuit that dynamically adjusts the voltage distribution, preventing any single capacitor from experiencing the full output voltage and thus avoiding excessive stress.
2Power
If more multiplication stages are added to increase output voltage, then the voltage boosting capability improves, but the useful life of the charge pump decreases due to excessive stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements protective measures in advance by dividing capacitors into sub-capacitors and introducing intermediate terminals before the excessive voltage stress can cause damage. This preemptive segmentation cushions the capacitors against voltage spikes and stress, allowing the charge pump to operate at high voltages without compromising its useful life.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively limits potential drops across capacitors, reducing stress and prolonging the useful life of charge pumps by ensuring operation within safe operating conditions, while maintaining efficiency and speed.
Implementation Method 1
The operation of a charge pump is based on charge maintaining and transfer phases in the sequence of pumping capacitors
Implementation Method 2
Incorporating two capacitors in series for critical stages, with a resistor dynamically biasing an intermediate terminal to divide potential drops below the maximum tolerable value
Data Source
AI summary
A voltage booster device may include a plurality of multiplication stages arranged in a sequence so that an input terminal of each multiplication stage, with the exception of a first multiplication stage, is connected to an output terminal of a previous multiplication stage. Each multiplication stage may include pumping circuitry for accumulating an electric charge proportional to a pump voltage value of the multiplication stage. Each multiplication stage may also include a phase signal generating circuit for switching the multiplication stages between a transfer phase and a maintaining phase. In at least one of the stages, the pumping circuitry may include at least two series connected charge accumulators. A terminal may be shared between the charge accumulators and may be connected through biasing circuitry to an output terminal of a previous multiplication stage for forcing the charge accumulators within a threshold potential drop value.