A micromechanical device includes a substrate, a micromechanical structure supported by the substrate and configured for overtone resonant vibration relative to the substrate, and a plurality of electrodes supported by the substrate and spaced from the micromechanical structure by respective gaps. The plurality of electrodes include multiple drive electrodes configured relative to the micromechanical structure to excite the overtone resonant vibration with a differential excitation signal, or multiple sense electrodes configured relative to the micromechanical structure to generate a differential output from the overtone resonant vibration.
H03H 9/00 - Networks comprising electromechanical or electro-acoustic elementsElectromechanical resonators
H03B 5/30 - Generation of oscillations using amplifier with regenerative feedback from output to input with frequency-determining element being electromechanical resonator
A device includes a substrate, an electrode supported by the substrate, an anchor supported by the substrate, and a composite structure supported by the anchor, disposed adjacent the electrode, and configured for resonant vibration. The composite structure includes an external layer and an internal dielectric region covered by the external layer.
A time-to-digital converter (TDC) incorporates a resistor-stabilized delay line, a sampling circuit and a processing circuit. The resistor-stabilized delay line operates to limit the variation in delay values for the delay elements in the delay line due to fabrication process variations. In some embodiments, the resistor-stabilized delay line limits the delay variation of each delay element to a fraction of the delay.
A current sense resistor integrated with an integrated circuit die where the integrated circuit die is housed in a flip-chip semiconductor package includes a metal layer formed over a passivation layer of the integrated circuit die where the metal layer having an array of metal pillars extending therefrom. The metal pillars are electrically connected to a first leadframe portion and a second leadframe portion of the semiconductor package where the first leadframe portion and the second leadframe portion are electrically isolated from each other and physically separated by a separation of a first distance. The current sense resistor is formed in a portion of the metal layer spanning the separation between the first and second leadframe portions, the first and second leadframe portions forming terminals of the current sense resistor.
G01R 1/20 - Modifications of basic electric elements for use in electric measuring instrumentsStructural combinations of such elements with such instruments
A buck switching regulator implements a fixed frequency feedback control circuit including a voltage control loop and a frequency control loop to regulate the switching frequency of the buck switching regulator to a fixed or nearly fixed frequency. The voltage control loop, implementing ripple mode control, is configured to control the power switches in response to the switching regulator output voltage or a signal related to the switching regulator output voltage. The frequency control loop, implementing a phase-locked loop control scheme, is configured to adjust the on-time of the high-side switch so as to regulate the switching frequency to be equal to or be proportional to the reference frequency.
H02M 3/157 - 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 with digital control
H02M 3/156 - 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
H02M 3/158 - 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
6.
PLL frequency synthesizer with multi-curve VCO implementing closed loop curve searching
A phase-locked loop circuit using a multi-curve voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) having a set of operating curves, each operating curve corresponding to a different frequency range over a control voltage range. The phase-locked loop circuit includes a digital control circuit configured to generate a curve select signal using a closed loop curve search operation to select one of the operating curves in the multi-curve VCO, the selected operating curve being used by the VCO to generate an output signal with an output frequency being equal or close to a target frequency of the phase-locked loop. In one embodiment, the digital control circuit implements a binary jump method and an operating curve is selected when the operating curve has an output frequency meeting the target frequency with the control voltage being within a first voltage range being a narrowed and centered voltage range within the control voltage range.
H03L 7/06 - Automatic control of frequency or phaseSynchronisation using a reference signal applied to a frequency- or phase-locked loop
H03L 7/099 - Details of the phase-locked loop concerning mainly the controlled oscillator of the loop
H03L 7/085 - Details of the phase-locked loop concerning mainly the frequency- or phase-detection arrangement including the filtering or amplification of its output signal
H03L 7/089 - Details of the phase-locked loop concerning mainly the frequency- or phase-detection arrangement including the filtering or amplification of its output signal the phase or frequency detector generating up-down pulses
H03L 7/10 - Details of the phase-locked loop for assuring initial synchronisation or for broadening the capture range
H03L 7/197 - Indirect frequency synthesis, i.e. generating a desired one of a number of predetermined frequencies using a frequency- or phase-locked loop using a frequency divider or counter in the loop a time difference being used for locking the loop, the counter counting between numbers which are variable in time or the frequency divider dividing by a factor variable in time, e.g. for obtaining fractional frequency division
7.
Switching regulator using adaptive slope compensation with DC correction
A switching regulator using current mode control and adaptive slope compensation includes a DC correction circuit to introduce a DC correction signal to cancel the DC offset error generated by the slope compensation signal. In some embodiments, the DC correction signal is a function of the input voltage and the output voltage and is applied in response to the slope compensation signal being applied. In one embodiment, the DC correction signal is a linear function of the input voltage and the output voltage.
H02M 3/158 - 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
H02M 3/156 - 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
H02M 3/155 - 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
8.
Last gasp hold-up circuit using adaptive constant on time control
A hold-up circuit coupled to a first node to receive an input voltage and to provide a hold-up voltage includes an inductor, a constant on-time buck-boost control circuit configured to drive a high-side power switch and a low-side power switch to operate in a buck mode and a boost mode of operation, and an energy storage capacitor. When the input voltage is greater than a predetermined threshold, the buck-boost control circuit is configured to drive the power switches in the boost mode to charge the capacitor to a capacitor voltage greater than the input voltage. When the input voltage is less than the predetermined threshold, the buck-boost control circuit is configured to drive the power switches in the buck mode to supply the energy stored on the capacitor to the inductor to provide a regulated voltage less than the capacitor voltage as the hold-up voltage to the first node.
G05F 1/40 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable is actually regulated by the final control device is AC using discharge tubes or semiconductor devices as final control devices
H02M 3/158 - 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
H02J 7/34 - Parallel operation in networks using both storage and other DC sources, e.g. providing buffering
An energy efficient Ethernet physical layer (PHY) device including an EEE control module configured to generate a control signal to transition the PHY device into a low power consumption mode based an operating condition, and a pause frame generator module responsive to the control signals to generate a pause frame. The pause frame generator module is configured to send the pause frame to a media access control (MAC) device to reduce an incoming flow of data packets from the MAC device to the PHY device for a pause time duration. In operation, the pause frame generator module generates the pause frame including a pause time indicating the length of time for the PHY device to be in the low power consumption mode. The value of the pause time for each pause frame is determined adaptively based on the type of data traffic to be transmitted from the PHY device.
A boost switching regulator incorporates a peak inductor current modulation circuit to modulate the peak inductor current as a function of the load current, the input voltage, the regulated output voltage, and a fixed current value. In this manner, the switching frequency of the boost regulator can be maintained above a given value or within a given frequency range over a wide range of load conditions and also over input voltage variations and output voltage settings.
H02M 3/158 - 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
A boost switching regulator incorporates a ripple injection circuit to generate a voltage ripple signal for feedback control that mimics the actual ripple signal of the regulated output voltage. In this manner, the ripple injection circuit achieves optimal ripple injection for stable and enhanced feedback control. In one embodiment, the injected ripple signal is generated from a current injection signal that mimics the difference between the inductor current that flows through the synchronous rectifier and the load current when the synchronous rectifier is on. The injected voltage ripple signal is generated when the current injection signal is integrated by a feedforward capacitor.
G05F 1/00 - 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
H02M 3/156 - 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
H02M 1/15 - Arrangements for reducing ripples from DC input or output using active elements
H02M 3/158 - 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
A voltage regulator includes a power device formed by an NMOS transistor having a drain terminal coupled to an input voltage, a source terminal providing an output voltage and a gate terminal receiving a gate drive signal; and an integrated AC/DC control loop configured to access the output voltage and to generate the gate drive signal based on a value of the output voltage in relation to a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage. The AC control portion generates a gate drive control signal which is AC coupled to the gate terminal of the power device as an AC component of the gate drive signal. The DC control portion controls a DC voltage level of the gate drive signal. The AC control portion is powered by the input voltage while the DC control portion is powered by a high supply voltage greater than the input voltage.
G05F 1/575 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable actually regulated by the final control device is DC using semiconductor devices in series with the load as final control devices characterised by the feedback circuit
G05F 1/40 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable is actually regulated by the final control device is AC using discharge tubes or semiconductor devices as final control devices
G05F 1/56 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable actually regulated by the final control device is DC using semiconductor devices in series with the load as final control devices
A buck switching regulator includes a feedback control circuit including a first gain circuit generating a first feedback signal indicative of the regulated output voltage; a ripple generation circuit generating a ripple signal that is injected to the first feedback signal; and a comparator receiving a first reference signal and the first feedback signal to generate a comparator output signal. The switching regulator further includes an offset compensation circuit including a second gain circuit generating a second feedback signal indicative of the regulated output voltage; and an operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) configured to receive the second feedback signal and the first reference signal and to generate an output signal. The output signal of the OTA is coupled to the comparator to adjust an offset to the comparator so as to cancel the offset at the regulated output voltage due to the injected ripple signal.
G05F 1/575 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable actually regulated by the final control device is DC using semiconductor devices in series with the load as final control devices characterised by the feedback circuit
G05F 1/56 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable actually regulated by the final control device is DC using semiconductor devices in series with the load as final control devices
H02M 3/156 - 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
G05F 1/62 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable actually regulated by the final control device is DC using bucking or boosting DC sources
Disclosed herein are MEMS resonator device designs and fabrication techniques that provide protection against electrostatic charge imbalances. In one aspect, a MEMS resonator device includes a substrate, an electrode including a first microstructure supported by the substrate, a resonant element including a second microstructure spaced from the first microstructure by a gap for resonant displacement of the second microstructure within the gap during operation, and a disabled shunt coupled to the electrode or the resonant element. The disabled shunt is disabled to enable the resonant displacement but otherwise configured to protect against damage from an electrostatic charge imbalance before the operation of the MEMS resonator device.
A voltage regulator includes a power device formed by an NMOS transistor having a drain terminal coupled to an input voltage, a source terminal providing an output voltage and a gate terminal receiving a gate drive signal; and an integrated AC/DC control loop configured to access the output voltage and to generate the gate drive signal based on a value of the output voltage in relation to a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage. The AC control portion generates a gate drive control signal which is AC coupled to the gate terminal of the power device as an AC component of the gate drive signal. The DC control portion controls a DC voltage level of the gate drive signal. The AC control portion is powered by the input voltage while the DC control portion is powered by a high supply voltage greater than the input voltage.
A current sense device for a power transistor is described. The power transistor is formed in a cellular structure including a cellular array of transistor cells. The current sense device includes multiple transistor cells in the cellular array of transistor cells of the power transistor being used as sense transistor cells. The sense transistor cells are evenly distributed throughout the cellular array where the source terminal of each sense transistor cell is electrically connected to a first node through a metal line in the first metal layer and through a metal line in the second metal layer where the metal lines are electrically isolated from the metal lines connecting the transistor cells of the power transistor. The sense transistor cells measure a small portion of the current flowing through the power transistor based on the size ratio of the current sense device and the power transistor.
G05F 1/40 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable is actually regulated by the final control device is AC using discharge tubes or semiconductor devices as final control devices
G05F 1/56 - Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable actually regulated by the final control device is DC using semiconductor devices in series with the load as final control devices
17.
ETHERNET PHYSICAL LAYER TRANSCEIVER WITH AUTO-RANGING FUNCTION
A method in an Ethernet physical transceiver device for selecting a transmission speed includes resetting a first register and a count value, establishing a link with a remote network device at a first transmission speed, incrementing the first register to a first value, monitoring the link by counting the number of detected false carrier events in the incoming transmission as the count value, and at the expiration of a first time period, comparing the count value of false carrier events to a predetermined threshold. The method continues with reducing the first transmission speed when the count value exceeds the predetermined threshold, maintaining the first transmission speed when the count value is less than the predetermined threshold, and when the first register has a first value, incrementing the first register to a second value and repeating the steps of monitoring the link to reducing the first transmission speed.
A power regulator having a single digital control pin for controlling the amount of power delivered to a load is provided. The single digital control pin is set to a first logic state for a first predetermined amount of time to specify a first power control function to be executed by the power regulator. The first power control function is executed by toggling the single digital control pin between the first logic state and a second logic state. A method for controlling the amount of power delivered to a load is also provided.
