Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
  • H02M3/00—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output
  • H02M3/02—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac
  • H02M3/04—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters
  • H02M3/10—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode
  • H02M3/145—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal
  • H02M3/155—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only
  • H02M3/156—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators
  • H02M3/158—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
  • G05F—SYSTEMS FOR REGULATING ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC VARIABLES
  • G05F1/00—Automatic systems in which deviations of an electric quantity from one or more predetermined values are detected at the output of the system and fed back to a device within the system to restore the detected quantity to its predetermined value or values, i.e. retroactive systems
  • G05F1/10—Regulating voltage or current
  • G05F1/46—Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable actually regulated by the final control device is dc
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
  • G06F1/26—Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
  • H02M3/00—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output
  • H02M3/003—Constructional details, e.g. physical layout, assembly, wiring or busbar connections
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02M—APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF
  • H02M3/00—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output
  • H02M3/02—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac
  • H02M3/04—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters
  • H02M3/10—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode
  • H02M3/145—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal
  • H02M3/155—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only
  • H02M3/156—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators
  • H02M3/158—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
  • H02M3/1584—Conversion of dc power input into dc power output without intermediate conversion into ac by static converters using discharge tubes with control electrode or semiconductor devices with control electrode using devices of a triode or transistor type requiring continuous application of a control signal using semiconductor devices only with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
  • Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
  • Y02B70/10—Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Definitions

• This disclosure relates to electronic systems, direct current to direct current (DC-DC) converters, electronic device design, and electronic device production technology.
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter comprising: a lower printed circuit board (PCB) part having a bottom side and a top side; an upper printed circuit board (PCB) part having a bottom side and a top side; embedded circuitry that is between the top side of the lower PCB part and the bottom side of the upper PCB part, the embedded circuitry comprising: a pulse width modulator; and at least one switch; one or more vias extending through the upper PCB part; an inductor positioned over the top side of the upper PCB part, wherein the one or more vias are electrically coupled to the inductor and to the embedded circuitry.
• DC-DC direct current to direct current
• the embodiments can feature any combination of: wherein the embedded circuitry includes an integrated circuit (IC); wherein a footprint of the inductor at least partially overlaps a footprint of the integrated circuit; wherein no wire-bonds electrically interconnect the inductor and the embedded circuitry; wherein the circuitry has a switching rate of at least 1 MHz; wherein the circuitry has a switching rate of at least 3 MHz; wherein the circuitry has a switching rate of at least 5 MHz; wherein the circuitry has a switching rate of up to 7 MHz; wherein the at least one switch comprises an enhanced gallium nitride field effect transistor (eGaN FET); further comprising one or more capacitors disposed over the top side of the upper PCB part; further comprising a core disposed between the top side of the lower PCB part and the bottom side of the upper PCB part, wherein the core has one or more pockets formed therein, and wherein the embedded circuitry is disposed in the one or more pockets; wherein the DC-DC power converter has a footprint
• the DC-DC power converter has a footprint that is smaller than 10 mm ; wherein the DC-DC power converter has a footprint that is smaller than 5 mm 2 ; wherein the DC-DC power converter has a footprint that is as small as 2 mm 2 ; wherein the DC-DC power converter has a footprint area that is between 0.5 and 10 mm 2 per amperage of current.
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter in a single package comprising: an enhanced gallium nitride (eGaN) component embedded, at least partially, inside of a mounting substrate; an inductor mounted outside of the mounting substrate; and a via coupling the inductor to the eGaN component; wherein a footprint of the inductor overlaps, at least partially, with a footprint of the eGaN component.
• eGaN enhanced gallium nitride
• the embodiments can feature any combination of: wherein the mounting substrate is a multi-layer PCB; wherein the eGaN component is a switch comprising eGaN, the DC-DC power converter further comprising a driver circuit configured to drive the switch; wherein the driver and the switch are part of an IC chip; wherein the IC chip further comprises a pulse width modulator (PWM) controller.
• PWM pulse width modulator
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter utilizing a chip embedded package
• the DC-DC converter comprising: an enhanced gallium nitride (eGaN) switch inside of a printed circuit board (PCB); a pulse width modulator (PWM) controller; a driver embedded inside of the PCB, wherein the PWM controller and the driver are configured to drive the eGaN switch at a frequency of 1 MHz or higher; an inductor positioned outside of the chip embedded package and coupled to a surface of the PCB; and a via electrically coupling the inductor to the eGaN switch.
• the embodiments can feature wherein the driver is configured to drive the eGaN switch at a frequency of 5 MHz or higher.
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter comprising: a printed circuit board; and an integrated circuit inside of the printed circuit board, the integrated circuit comprising a driver.
• the embodiments can feature any combination of: further comprising an inductor electrically coupled to the integrated circuit by one or more vias that extend through the printed circuit board; wherein the inductor has a footprint that at least partially overlaps a footprint of the integrated circuit.
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter comprising: an integrated circuit comprising a driver; and an inductor vertically stacked above the integrated circuit such that a footprint of the inductor overlaps, at least partially, with a footprint of the integrated circuit, wherein the inductor is electrically coupled to the integrated circuit.
• the embodiments can feature any combination of: further comprising a printed circuit board (PCB) having a first side and a second side that is opposite the first side, wherein the integrated circuit is mounted on the first side of the PCB, and wherein the inductor is mounted on the second side of the PCB; wherein the inductor is electrically coupled to the integrated circuit by one or more vias that extend through the printed circuit board.
• PCB printed circuit board
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter comprising: one or more switches; a driver configured to drive the one or more switches at a frequency, the frequency being between 1 and 5 MHz inclusive; and an inductor electrically coupled to the one or more switches; wherein the footprint of the DC-DC converter is less than or equal to 10 mm ; wherein the DC-DC converter is configured to receive at least 5 amps of current; wherein the DC-DC converter is configured to output at least 5 amps of current.
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter comprising: a first switch coupled to a first inductor; a second switch coupled to a second inductor; and an integrated circuit chip embedded in a printed circuit board; wherein the first switch and the second switch are coupled to a modulator; and wherein the first inductor and the second inductor are coupled to a voltage output node.
• DC-DC direct current to direct current
• the embodiments can feature any combination of: wherein the feedback path and an output from the ramp generator are coupled to a comparator; further comprising a reference voltage source coupled to the comparator; wherein the ramp generator is configured to emulate a ripple current through the inductor; wherein the ramp generator comprises; a first current source, a second current source, and a capacitor; wherein the first current source and the second current source are configured to be trimmed based, at least in part, on an inductance of the inductor; wherein the ramp generator and the inductor are included in the same DC-DC power converter package; wherein the ramp generator is configured to generate an output signal that is unaffected by an output capacitor coupled to the inductor; wherein the ramp generator is configured to generate an output signal that is independent from the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of an output capacitor coupled to the inductor; further comprising an output capacitor having a sufficiently low ESR such that a ripple voltage across the output capacitor is too small to reliably provide to a modulation circuit.
• ESR equivalent series resistance
• a ramp generator comprising: a first current source coupled to a supply voltage; a second current source coupled to ground; and a capacitor coupled between the first current source and the second current source.
• the embodiments can feature any combination of: wherein the ramp generator is configured to emulate a ripple current through an inductor in a DC-DC converter; wherein the output of the first current source is based, at least in part, on an input voltage to a DC-DC converter; wherein the output of the first current source is based, at least in part, on an inductance of an inductor in a DC-DC converter; wherein the output of the second current source is based, at least in part, on an inductance of an inductor in a DC- DC converter; wherein the output of the second current source is based, at least in part, on an inductance of an inductor in a DC-DC converter; wherein the output of the second current source is based, at least in part, on an inductance of an inductor in a DC-DC converter
• Figure 1 shows an example circuit level schematic of a chip embedded
• Figure 10 shows an example dual inductor design for a dual buck converter using a chip embedded DC-DC converter.
• Figure 1 shows the driver 117 and the PWM controller 119 as part of the IC 113 A
• the IC can include one of the PWM controller 119 or the driver 117 while the other of the PWM controller 119 and the driver 117 is separately coupled to the IC 113A.
• one of the eGaN switches 123, 127 or the pair of eGaN switches 123, 127 can be integrated into the IC 113A along with the respective electric pathways 121, 125, and/or 129.
• the IC 113A can be a semiconductor.
• the second party may over-engineer the inductor out of an abundance of caution, for example, by allowing for a 5A AC current, a 10A DC current, and a 100% DC overcurrent, such the inductor is selected to have a saturation limit of 25A or more.
• the second party may not know OCP limits, and therefore resort to over- engineering the inductor to be larger in inductance and size such that the inductor is not saturated.
• Figure 3 shows a single IC chip 315 that can include a driver and switches
• switches e.g., monolithic eGaN switches
• Vias, pads, and/or traces can couple various components as a DC-DC converter, and the two dies can be faced down or up.
• An inductor or other magnetic can be placed in or on the top layer and create a complete half bridge combination in a Buck converter or any other configuration using a Half Bridge scheme.
• Stacked components can be electrically coupled (e.g., to the IC chip) with vias, which can reduce parasitic effects as discussed above.
• Some embodiments disclosed herein can provide for ease of design such that individual components do not need to be selected, arranged, and mounted by a user.
• a single package DC-DC converter can be used without configuring external capacitors or inductors.
• some embodiments can integrate the inductor into the package without compromising the size of the inductor, without compromising the performance of the inductor, and/or without requiring a custom made inductor.
• a larger sized DC-DC converters can handle larger amounts of current.
• the DC-DC converters disclosed herein can handle a given amount of current with a smaller sized DC-DC converter, as compared to conventional approaches.
• the DC-DC converters disclosed herein can have a footprint area of less than 20 mm 2 per amperage of current, less than 15 mm 2 per
• FIG. 7A shows an example of a DC-DC converter used in a memory device 700.
• the memory device 700 can be, for example, a solid state drive.
• the memory device 700 can include a controller 703 and a plurality of memory chips 705 coupled through a PCB 701.
• a DC-DC converter 707 can receive a supply voltage through power input pins 709 and provide DC power to the memory chips 705 and/or controller 703.
• the DC-DC converter 707 can be coupled to an inductor 709 by way of bond wires or traces 711 through the PCB 701.
• the PCB 701 can be a separate PCB 701 from the package of the DC-DC converter 707.
• the capacity of the memory device 700 is limited by the number of memory chips 705, which is six memory chips in the implementation of Figure 7A.
• Figure 7B shows an example application of a chip embedded DC-DC converter to a memory device 750.
• a chip embedded DC-DC converter 751 receives a supply voltage through power input pins 709 and provide DC power to the memory chips 705 and/or controller 703.
• a smaller inductor can be included in the package footprint of the chip embedded DC-DC converter 751.
• the chip embedded DC-DC converter 751 can be substantially smaller than the DC-DC converter 707 of Figure 7A. Accordingly, the additional PCB room can be used for an additional memory chip 753 to improve the memory capacity of the memory device 750.
• a power supply can be coupled to the packaged chip embedded DC-DC converter. Accordingly, the chip embedded DC -DC converter can use the supplied power to provide a DC output voltage to power the electronic device.
• a feedback system (e.g., as shown in Figure 14, Figure 16, and Figure 17) may be implemented to increase the power delivered through the inductor to the capacitor and prevent the voltage drop.
• a high inductance resists the change in power delivery.
• the transient feedback response of a multi-inductor, chip embedded DC-DC converter can be faster than the transient feedback response of a DC-DC converter with fewer, larger inductors, and the response can have a lower output voltage drop.
• the DC-DC converters disclosed herein that have higher switching frequencies can utilize smaller inductors, so that the single-inductor embodiments described herein can have improved response to transient loads.
• Figure 13A shows an example circuit level schematic 1300 of a DC- DC converter including a chip embedded DC-DC converter.
• the components of Figure 13 A can be the same as or similar to those in Figure 12.
• the DC-DC converter of Figure 13A can include an additional capacitor 1221.
• the capacitor 1221 can store energy when switch 1203 is turned on. In some embodiments, energy can be stored such that the capacitor 1221 charges to about half the voltage of the voltage supply 1201.
• switch 1203 is turned on, switch 1207 is turned off, and switch 1205 is turned off, transient current can flow through the capacitor 1221 to inductor 1211.
• switch 1207 is turned on and switch 1209 is turned off, the capacitor 1221 can provide power to switch 1207 and cause current to flow to inductor 1213.
• the IC chip section 1141, the first power switch 1143 and the third power switch 1147 can be part of a first IC chip.
• the second power switch 1145 and the fourth power switch 1149 can be separate chips, such as separate monolithic eGaN chips, from the first IC chip. In some embodiments, the second power switch 1145 and the fourth power switch 1149 can be part of the same monolithic chip. One, some, or all of the chips can be embedded in the PCB.
• the IC section 1141 can include a PWM controller and a driver.
• the driver can be configured to drive the first switch pair out of phase with the second switch pair.
• the driver can be configured to drive the first switch pair and the second switch pair with the same period and the same frequency.
• the inductor is the largest physical component.
• a multi-inductor chip embedded DC-DC converter can instead use multiple, smaller inductors coupled in parallel. Switches can be driven out of phase such that the multiple inductors charge and discharge energy out of phase.
• the outputs of the multiple inductors are coupled in parallel such that the output ripple of the multiple inductors is at a higher frequency than the output ripple of any individual inductor.
• the outputs of the multiple inductors are coupled in parallel, and the output ripple of the multiple inductors has the same period as the output ripple of the individual inductors.
• the modulator can use a constant on time frequency modulation scheme, a constant off time frequency modulation scheme, a pulse width modulation scheme, or other scheme. Constant on time and constant off time schemes can provide for stable DC-DC operation with high performance. In some embodiments, it can be desirable for the modulator to detect the ripple voltage to trigger certain control events. For example, in a constant on time scheme or constant off time scheme, the modulator can detect the AC ripple in order to generate an on or off pulse with a constant on or off time respectively, thereby modulating the frequency and affecting the periods of the control signals sent to switches 1405, 1407.
• Non-delayed feedback paths can provide fast responses to changes in output voltage.
• Feedback paths can be used in some modulation/control schemes, such as constant on time or constant off time schemes, to control when the switches 1405, 1407 are turned on or off.
• the ESR 1425 of the capacitor 1421 can be designed and/or selected such that a sufficiently large ripple is caused.
• a DC-DC converter can ideally generate a pure DC voltage. In practice, many applications allow small ripples on the output of a DC-DC converter but only within a small margin.
• the inductor 1709 can be included in the chip embedded DC-DC converter package, such as shown in Figure 1, Figure 3, Figure 4 A, and Figure 4B.
• a low ESR output capacitor 1721 can be coupled to the output node 1717.
• the at least one output capacitor 1721 can have a low ESR (e.g., similar to the values and ranges discussed herein with regards to the embodiment of Figure 16).
• the ESR can be in the ⁇ range (e.g., 1 ⁇ , 10 ⁇ , 100 ⁇ ) or lower in the ⁇ range (e.g. 10 ⁇ , 100 ⁇ ), and the arrangement of the capacitors in parallel may reduce the effective parallel ESR even further.
• the ramp generator Since the ramp generator knows the inductance, the input and output voltages, and the timing of the switches, it is able to determine a simulated ripple signal that emulates the actual ripple signal in the circuit (e.g., the ripple at the inductor).
• the emulated ripple can be proportional to the ripple in the inductor.
• the emulated ripple can change with the same slope (e.g., at the same rate) that the ripple in the inductor changes.
• the emulated ripple in a system with a low ESR capacitor 1721 can emulate a ripple that would be seen at node 1417 of Figure 14 when a low ESR capacitor 1421 is not used.
• a comparator compares the output of the DC- DC converter to the combination of the reference signal with the emulated inductor ripple. For example, in a constant on time modulation scheme, the comparator can output a high signal when the output signal on the feedback path 1727 falls below the value of the reference voltage combined with the emulated inductor ripple.
• the high signal can be provided through an AND gate to a one-shot circuit, which provides a constant on time PWM pulse to the driver 1703, which drives switch 1705 on and switch 1707 off.
• An inverter 1735 and minimum off time delay circuit 1737 coupled to the AND gate can prevent the one-shot circuit 1733 from triggering too frequently by ensuring that that switch 1705 periodically turns off and switch 1707 periodically turns on.
• Various other implementations can be used to drive the switches based on the output of the comparator
• a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) power converter comprising: an integrated circuit chip embedded in a printed circuit board, the integrated circuit chip comprising a driver;
• an overcurrent protection circuit configured to detect when a current provided to the inductor exceeds a limit.
• the limit exceeds a maximum specified DC current specification plus maximum alternating current ripple specification by less than 50%.
• a third switch configured to receive at least one of the one or more driver signals, the third switch coupled to the first current source;
• an output capacitor coupled to the inductor and also coupled to the output port, the output capacitor having a low equivalent series resistance (ESR), wherein a voltage ripple in the output voltage is 2% or less;
• Embodiment 101 The DC-DC power converter of Embodiment 101, wherein the DC-DC power converter is configured to handle a current amount and wherein the DC-DC power converter has a footprint area that is between 1.0 mm' and 10 mm per amperage of the current amount.
• Some embodiments can use a monolithic eGaN IC that includes all or multiple ones of the wireless communication system 2103, PWM controller 119, driver 117, and switches 2109. Some embodiments can also use a separate eGaN ICs for each of the wireless communication system 2103, PWM controller 119, driver 117, and switches 2109, or any combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the PWM controller 119 can be omitted from the package 2105. A separate PWM controller 119 can be used to drive several DC-DC converter power stages, as discussed herein (e.g., as shown in Figure 24A).
• DC-DC converts can be used as modular components to be combined to form a wide variety of voltages and/or currents using only a small number of DC-DC converter types.
• DC-DC converters configured to output 50 amps, 20 amps, 10 amps, 5 amps, 2 amps, and 1 amp can be used in various different combination to provide systems that can output current amounts from 1 amp to 100 amps using 6 or fewer DC-DC converters.
• the controller 2359 can then configure each of the three DC-DC converters 2353, 2355, 2357 to provide a combination of currents that add to 15 amps (such as 5+5+5, 0+10+5, or a proportionally balanced 60/7 + 30/7 + 15/7).
• the current balancing can include, for example, detecting that a first DC-DC converter is at, reaching, or exceeding a threshold limit (e.g., a current output limit, an inductor saturation limit, a voltage limit, a temperature limit), reducing the current provided by the first DC-DC converter, and, in some cases, increasing a current provided by a second DC-DC converter to compensate for the reduced current provided by the first DC-DC converter.
• Current balancing can include, for example, increasing and/or decreasing the output current of one or more of the DC-DC converters 2353, 2355, and/or 2357 in response to variations in a current drawn by a load. For example, a motor in steady state can draw less current than a motor that is spinning up, and current balancing can be performed to provide more or less current to the motor.
• Each power stage 2403A-2403C can include a driver 117A-117C and switches 2405A-2405C as respectively shown. Each power stage 2403A-2403C can be coupled to a respective inductor 131A-131C. The power stages 2403A-2403C can be configured in parallel.
• the current capacity of DC-DC converter 2400 can be the sum of the current capacity in each parallel branch of power stages 2403A-2403C and inductors 131A-131C.
• an inductor can be rated for 10A, but the inductor can experience a 30% AC ripple such that the peak current is 11.5 A, and be exposed to temperature variations that affected the saturation limit.
• the 10A inductor can be designed with a 15A or 20A saturation limit to provide a saturation buffer or margin of error.
• a buffer is designed for a worst-case scenario, such as across a wide temperature range, such that an inductor is selected to have a saturation rating of twice the current output rating of the DC-DC converter.
• such designs can increase at least the physical size and/or DCR of the inductor.
• the comparator 139 can detect when the inductor 131 is nearing or at the saturation limit.
• the current source 137 can act to provide the reference current for comparison.
• the current source 137 can be trimmed and/or controlled (e.g., via a PMBUS or other control communication line) to adjust the reference current. Accordingly, the threshold reference value can be adjusted for different inductors 131 and across different temperatures (which can be in response to a signal from a thermometer, not shown).
• the fault logic 141 can activate overcurrent protection circuitry.
• buffer room of less than 50%, 25%, 15%, 10%, 5%, 2.5%, or 1% can be set, or any values therebetween, or any ranges bounded by any combination of these values, although buffer amounts outside these ranges can be used in some implementations.
• the low buffer room can be used even across a wide range of temperature conditions.
• a 10A rated DC-DC converter can use an inductor with a 10.5A saturation limit (e.g., buffer of 5%) and operate under temperature conditions ranging from -40 ' to +125 X.
• Other example minimum to maximum temperature ranges can include OX to 100 10 ⁇ C to 90 X, 25X to 75 X, and the like.
• Other example temperature ranges include at least 50 of variation, at least 75 ! of variation, at least 100 of variation, at least 125 °C of variation, at least 150 of variation, at least 165 X1 of variation, and at least 175 °C of variation.
• the filter 2601 can be, for example, a bandpass filter configured to pass voltage signals within frequency range (e.g., 50-60 Hz).
• the filter can include one or more switches, inductors, and/or capacitors. In some embodiments, the filter 2601 can be omitted.
• a rectifier 2605 can include an arrangement of diodes 2609 and/or active switches 2611.
• Various types of rectifier topologies include half bridge rectifiers, full bridge rectifiers, single phase rectifiers, multi-phase rectifiers, active rectifiers, etc. can be used.
• Active rectifiers can include one or more active switches 2611.
• a diode bridge can be used to convert the AC signal into a pulsed DC signal.
• the switches 2611 can be actively controlled.
• a PWM controller can be included and provide PWM signals to control the switches 2611.
• any combination of circuit elements such as the active switches 2611, any control system (e.g., a PWM controller) for the active switches 2611, and diodes 2609 can be included in a chip embedded integrated circuit and coupled to inductors LI, L2, and/or L3 by way of a via.
• Any functional stage of the AC-DC converter such as the filter 2601, isolation circuit 2603, rectifier 2605, and smoother & output filter 2607 can be included in one chip- embedded integrated circuit or any number of chip-embedded integrated circuits.
• any of the inductors such as LI, L2, and L3 or capacitors (such as CI, or the reservoir capacitor) can be stacked above (e.g., at least partially or completely overlapping) the embedded circuitry (e.g., the integrated circuit) and can be coupled to the integrated circuit by way of one or more vias.
• the physical layout can include the techniques discussed with respect to Figure 3. Any of the feedback and control techniques disclosed herein can also be applied.
• Non-transitory computer readable media can be used. Any media that store data and/or instructions that cause a machine to operate in a specific fashion can be used. Such non-transitory media can comprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 2207. Common forms of non-transitory media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical data storage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, any other memory chip or cartridge, and networked versions of the same.

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• 2018
  • 2018-02-06 JP JP2019565153A patent/JP7221221B2/ja active Active
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