KR20110032720A - Charge pump circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A charge pump circuit is provided to reduce power consumption by driving a charge pump with low power. CONSTITUTION: In a charge pump circuit, a charge pump circuit has a plurality of pumping stages. Each pumping stage comprises two inverters, two pump capacitors, and an electric charge recycle unit. Two inverters are cross-connected. The inverter unit is controlled by first and second clock signals. A second clock signal has a reversed phase to the first clock signal. The pump capacitor is connected between an input terminal and inverter units of the clock signal. The clock signals are provided to one end of the pump capacitors. The recycle unit is connected to the other end of the pump capacitors.

Description

Charge pump circuit {CHARGE PUMP CIRCUIT}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charge pump circuit, and more particularly, to a boost circuit structure that enables the charge pump to be driven at low power.

Conventional multiple-stage charge pumps are widely used when voltage signals with voltages higher than the power voltage are used, and high voltages are required when writing or erasing electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM).

1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional multiple-stage charge pump.

Referring to FIG. 1, the multiple-stage charge pump includes a plurality of unit circuits 10. Each unit circuit 10 includes one switch S and a pumping capacitor Cpmp. Clock signals .phi.1 and .phi.2, each having a reverse phase, control the switches of the odd stage and the switches of the even stage of the unit circuit to turn on every alternating period. Thus, the charges of the pump capacitor of the previous stage unit circuit charge the pump capacitor of that unit circuit. As such, the output voltage VPP has a voltage level that is close to several times the voltage VDD.

Because such pump capacitors are repeatedly charged and discharged, conventional multiple-stage charge pump circuits have the disadvantages of high power consumption and low power efficiency.

In order to solve such drawbacks, research has been conducted on circuits capable of recycling electric charges. For example, US Patent Publication 20090027108, US Patent Publication 200900217180 discloses a multiple-stage charge pump circuit having a charge recycling circuit. Hereinafter, the charge recycling pump disclosed in US Patent Publication 200900217180 will be described.

FIG. 2A shows an example of a charge pump circuit having a conventional charge recycling circuit, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a waveform of a signal in FIG. 2A.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the multiple-stage charge pump circuit includes a stage circuit 12, 14, and a charge recycling circuit 16. The first stage circuit 12 includes a transfer circuit 12a, a pump capacitor CP1 and a voltage driving circuit 120. The second stage circuit 14 also has the same configuration as the first stage circuit.

The charge recycling circuit 16 is provided for recycling charge from one of the nodes E12 and E32 having the high voltage VDD to the other node having the low voltage. The charge recycling circuit 16 connects the node E12 and the node E32 in the time intervals TP3 and TP4 of the period shown in FIG. 2B.

Referring to FIG. 2B, when the clock signal P1 is a high voltage VDD and the clock signal P4 is a low voltage, the pump capacitor CP1 is pushed and the pump capacitor CP2 is in a pulled state.

Thereafter, when the clock signal P1 is lowered to the low voltage while keeping the clock signal P4 low, both the first stage circuit 12 and the second stage circuit 14 are disabled.

When both the first stage circuit 12 and the second stage circuit 14 are disabled, the gates of the transistors T5 and T6 receive the control signal SC1. The control signal is equal to the high voltage VDD. Transistors T5 and T6 are turned on by high voltage control signal SC1.

As a result, a path is formed between the node E12 and the node E32 through the charge recycling circuit 16. The charges are thus recycled and transferred from one of node E12 and node E32 with high voltage VDD to the other node instead of directly discharged to ground.

However, when both the first stage circuit 12 and the second stage circuit 14 are disabled, the nodes of the pump capacitors CP1 and CP2, that is, E12 and E32, are in a floating state. Thus, the charges are not completely recycled by the transistors T5 and T6 of the charge recycling circuit 16 connected below the pump capacitors CP1 and CP2. In addition, as the voltage at the upper node E11 of the pump capacitor CP1 is lowered, the transistor T4 is weakly turned on, and thus some of the pumping charge flows in the reverse direction and may be lost.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a charge pump circuit capable of driving a low charge electric charge pump that can raise a low external voltage to a higher specific voltage.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, in a charge pump circuit having a plurality of pumping stages, each pumping stage has a first clock signal supplied from the outside and a reverse phase with respect to the first clock signal Two cross-coupled inverter parts controlled by a second clock signal, two pump capacitors respectively connected between each input terminal of the first and second clock signals and the inverter parts, and the clock signal And a charge recycling portion connected to the other end opposite to one end supplied to the pump capacitors.

Here, the charge recycling unit includes one P-type MOS transistor.

Here, the P-type MOS transistor of the charge recycling portion is turned on before a predetermined time before the first clock signal and the second clock signal transition to form a path between the two pump capacitors.

Herein, the two inverter units each include one N-type MOS transistor and one P-type transistor.

Here, the pumping stage further includes a reverse current prevention unit for preventing the leakage current flows by turning on both inverters when the first clock signal and the second clock signal transition.

Here, the reverse current prevention unit includes two P-type transistors respectively connected between the two pump capacitors and the P-type transistors of the two inverter units.

Here, the reverse current prevention unit further includes two N-type transistors cross-connected with the N-type transistors of the two inverter units, respectively.

According to the charge pump circuit according to the present invention, it is possible to drive a charge pump capable of raising a low external voltage to a higher specific voltage at a lower power, and such a low power drive enables a low voltage driving of a memory device to reduce power consumption. Can be. Therefore, once used and reused power is discarded has the advantage that can save a lot of energy.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing.

The terms first, second, A, B, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

According to the present invention, if the opposite node of the large capacitor connected to the node to recover the charge is in the floating state, the voltage at the floating node is also changed according to the change in the voltage at the node to recover the charge. Because of this, much of the charge is not recycled. Therefore, the voltage at the opposite node is fixed to allow maximum charge to be recycled.

In addition, by recycling the charge, the nodes in the switch circuit are weakly turned on due to nodes having intermediate values, so that the reverse current flows, and the present invention closes the paths of the reverse current so that there is no lost charge.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the principle of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3A, since the opposite node nf of the capacitor connected to the node nr to reuse the charge changes as nr moves, the amount of charge that can be reused is as follows.

Qf = (Cpmp * Cp) / (Cpmp + Cp) * VDD / 2

However, if the opposite node nt of the node nr is fixed as shown in FIG.

In order to prevent the reverse current, by adding a switch such as a p-type mos transistor or an n-type mos transistor in the path of the reverse current, turning off the switch when the charge is recycled prevents the occurrence of reverse current, thereby improving charge recycling efficiency. Can increase.

The present invention provides a charge pump with high efficiency by applying to a cross-coupled charge pump. The present invention is characterized by using a switch connecting two nodes in which a large amount of charge is charged and discharged to recycle the charge. The switch uses a PMOS switch to allow full charge recycling even at high levels.

First, the cross-coupled charge pump used by the present invention will be described.

4 shows one pumping stage of a typical cross-coupled charge pump.

Referring to FIG. 4, a cross-coupled inverter serves as a switch and there are two capacitors, so each pump pumps twice to supply charge to Vout and increases the output to Vin + VDD.

However, if the transition speed of Φ1 and Φ2 clocks is slow and has the same value at the intermediate level, both cross-connected inverters are turned on, and Vin and Vout are short-circuited and reverse current flows. When reverse current flows, the boosted Vout node loses charge, so the boosting efficiency is very low.

FIG. 5A is a view showing a part of a charge pump circuit according to the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a view showing a waveform of a signal in FIG. 5A.

As shown in Fig. 5A, one stage of the charge pump circuit includes two inverter sections, two pump capacitors CL1 and CR1, a reverse current prevention section and a charge recycling section.

The two inverters each include one N-type metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor and one P-type transistor. In FIG. 5A, one inverter unit includes an N-type transistor ML1 and a P-type transistor ML2, and the other inverter unit includes an N-type transistor MR1 and a P-type transistor MR2.

Two pump capacitors CL1 and CR1 are connected between each input terminal of the clock signal .phi.1 and the clock signal .phi.2, and between two inverters, respectively.

The two inverters are controlled by a clock signal Φ 1 and a clock signal Φ 2 having inverse phases with each other. When these clock signals are transitioned, if the clock signals are slowed to have the same value at an intermediate level, they are cross-connected. All four inverters are on, which short-circuits Vin and Vout so that reverse current can flow.

The charge pump circuit of the present invention includes a reverse current prevention portion in a path through which reverse current flows to prevent the occurrence of such leakage current. Specifically, the reverse current protection unit includes two N-type transistors ML0 and MR0 and two P-type transistors ML3 and MR3.

Specifically, two P-type transistors ML3 and MR3 are connected between two pump capacitors CL1 and CR1 and P-type transistors ML2 and MR2 of two inverter units, respectively. The two N-type transistors ML0 and MR0 are cross-connected with the N-type transistors ML1 and MR1 of the two inverter units, respectively.

The reverse current protection also includes capacitors CL0 and CR0.

The reverse current protection operates with additional Φ1BX and Φ2BX clocks, while the ML3 and MR3 also operate with ISO signals. Four additional transistors can be turned off when the signal transitions, shorting a circuit through which charge can flow, preventing reverse current, and increasing the efficiency of the charge pump.

The charge recycling portion includes one P-type transistor MC. The charge recycling portion is connected between two pump capacitors, and forms a path through which charge passes between the pump capacitors CL1 and CR1.

Specifically, the charge recycling unit is connected to the other end opposite the one end where the clock signals are supplied to the pump capacitors. In FIG. 5A, the charge recycling portion is connected between the node BL and the node BR.

In time period T1, clock signal .phi.1 goes high and clock signal .phi.2 goes low. According to the clock signal .phi.1, the node BL has a voltage VDD. Transistor ML0 is turned on based on high voltage VDD at node BL. Transistor MR2 is turned off based on high voltage VDD at node BL.

In addition, the node BR has a low voltage according to the clock signal .phi.2. Transistor MR0 is turned off based on the low voltage at node BR, and transistor ML2 is turned on based on the low voltage at node BR. When transistor ML2 is turned on and transistor MR2 is turned off, the high voltage VDD at node BL is output to transistor Vout through transistor ML2. Pump capacitor CL1 connected to node BL is charged to high voltage VDD.

In the time interval T1, the clock signal .phi.1BX has a low voltage. Thus, the transistor ML1 is in an off state in accordance with the clock signal .phi.1BX. In addition, the clock signal .phi.2BX has a high voltage VDD. Thus, transistor MR1 is turned on in accordance with clock signal .phi.2BX. When transistor MR1 is turned on, voltage Vin is applied to node BR. Pump capacitor CR1 is then charged to voltage Vin due to voltage Vin at node BR.

In time period T3, clock signal .phi.1 goes low and clock signal .phi.2 goes high. According to the clock signal .phi.2, the node BR has a voltage VDD. Transistor MR0 is turned on based on high voltage VDD at node BR. Transistor ML2 is turned off based on high voltage VDD at node BR. Pump capacitor CR1 connected to node BR is provided with a high voltage VDD. Since the pump capacitor CR1 is charged to Vin in the previous time interval, the voltage across the pump capacitor CR1 is VDD + Vin.

In addition, the node BL has a low voltage according to the clock signal .phi.1. Transistor ML0 is turned off based on low voltage S at node BL, and transistor MR2 is turned on based on low voltage at node BL.

In the time interval T3, the clock signal .phi.1BX has a high voltage VDD. Thus, transistor ML1 is turned on in accordance with clock signal .phi.1BX. When transistor ML1 is turned on, voltage Vin is applied to node BL. As a result, the voltage Vin is provided to the pump capacitor CL1, and the pump capacitor Cl1 is charged to VDD in the previous time interval, so the voltage across the pump capacitor CR1 becomes VDD + Vin. In addition, the clock signal .phi.2BX has a low voltage. Thus, transistor MR1 is in the off state in accordance with clock signal .phi.2BX.

In the time intervals T2 and T4, the P-type transistor MC of the charge recycling unit is turned on according to the low voltage of the clock signal EQ. Time intervals T2 and T4 are time intervals subsequent to time intervals T1 and T3, respectively.

The time intervals T2 and T4 are located just before the transition of the clock signals .phi.1 and .phi.2. According to clock signals Φ1 and Φ2, the voltage drops in one of the pump capacitors Cl1 and CR1 and in the other. Thus, in accordance with the clock signal .phi.1 or .phi.2, the charge from the pump capacitor to drop the voltage is moved to the pump capacitor to rise.

That is, when the P-type transistor MC is turned on, a path through which charge flows is formed between the pump capacitors Cl1 and CR1, and the charge is recycled. In the capacitor with the higher voltage among the pump capacitors Cl1 and CR1, the charges are transferred to the capacitor with the lower voltage to recycle the charge.

6 shows a memory cell to which the present invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 6, a CMOS Dickson's charge pump is shown. Referring to FIG. 6, the reverse current may be prevented by the ISO signal and the PMOS switch that transitions from ground to VPP, and the charges of Φ 1 and Φ 2 may be recycled by the EQ signal and the PMOS switch that transition from ground to VDD. The present invention can be applied by adding a switch to prevent the reverse current of the charge pump and to move the charge.

7 is a view showing the performance of the charge pump circuit according to the prior art and the present invention.

7 shows the VPP voltage boosted when the cross-connected two-stage charge pump was operated with a clock of 10 MHz at VDD = 1.8V when the charge was recycled (leader with triangles) and when not recycled (leaders with squares). The figure shown.

As shown in FIG. 7, a charge pump that recycles charge can produce VPP 1.5 times higher than a conventional charge pump that does not recycle charge.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional multiple-stage charge pump 100.

FIG. 2A shows an example of a charge pump circuit having a conventional charge recycling circuit, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a waveform of a signal in FIG. 3A.

3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the principle of the present invention.

4 shows one pumping stage of a typical cross-coupled charge pump.

FIG. 5A is a view showing a part of a charge pump circuit according to the present invention, and FIG. 5B is a view showing a waveform of a signal in FIG. 5A.

6 shows a memory cell to which the present invention is applied.

7 is a view showing the performance of the charge pump circuit according to the prior art and the present invention.

Claims (7)

In a charge pump circuit having a plurality of pumping stages, each pumping stage is Two cross-coupled inverter units controlled by a first clock signal supplied from the outside and a second clock signal having a reverse phase with respect to the first clock signal; Two pump capacitors connected between the input terminals of the first and second clock signals and the inverter units, respectively; And a charge recycling unit connected to the other end of the clock signals opposite to one end supplied to the pump capacitors. The charge pump circuit of claim 1, wherein the charge recycling unit comprises one P-type MOS transistor. The P-type MOS transistor of claim 2, wherein the P-type MOS transistor of the charge recycling unit is turned on a predetermined time before the first clock signal and the second clock signal transition to form a path between the two pump capacitors. Charge pump circuit. The charge pump circuit of claim 1, wherein the two inverter units each include one N-type MOS transistor and one P-type transistor. The method of claim 4, wherein the pumping stage further comprises a reverse current protection for preventing the leakage current flows by turning on both inverters when the first clock signal and the second clock signal transitions. Charge pump circuit. 6. The charge pump circuit according to claim 5, wherein the reverse current prevention unit includes two P-type transistors respectively connected between the two pump capacitors and the P-type transistors of the two inverter units. The charge pump circuit of claim 6, wherein the reverse current prevention unit further comprises two N-type transistors cross-connected with the N-type transistors of the two inverter units, respectively.

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