This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 101147281, filed on Dec. 13, 2012. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification.
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a voltage generator, and a more particularly to an asymmetric voltage generator.
2. Related Art
The voltage tuner 100 is referred as a low drop-out (LDO) voltage tuner. Under a condition in which the feedback voltage Vf is equal to the input voltage Vref, a current Ip is equal to Vf/Rf1, and the output voltage Vout is equal to a product of the current Ip and a sum of the resistors Rf1 and Rf2. Therefore, in the voltage tuner 100, when the output voltage Vout is being adjusted, only the resistance of the resistor Rf2 needs to be altered.
It should be noted that, the voltage value of the output voltage Vout and the resistances of the resistors Rf1 and Rf2 are correlated. In order to ensure that the voltage value of the output voltage Vout is accurate, a layout of resistors Rf1 and Rf2 with stable resistances are required for the voltage tuner 100. Therefore, resistors Rf1 and Rf2 with greater widths are needed. On the other hand, in order to reduce the electric energy consumed by the resistors Rf1 and Rf2, these resistors are typically designed to have large resistances. Accordingly, the resistors Rf1 and Rf2 also require greater lengths. In other words, the circuit area occupied by the resistors Rf1 and Rf2 in the conventional voltage tuner 100 is very large which increases the circuit cost.
The invention provides a voltage generator capable of effectively saving the required circuit area and reducing the electric energy consumed.
The invention provides a voltage generator, including an operational amplifier, an offset voltage tuner, and an output stage circuit. A first input terminal of the operational amplifier receives an input voltage. The operational amplifier receives and adjusts an offset voltage of the operational amplifier according to a control signal. The offset voltage tuner is coupled to the operational amplifier, and the offset voltage tuner provides the control signal. The output stage circuit is coupled to an output terminal and a second input terminal of the operational amplifier. The output stage circuit generates the output voltage according to a voltage on the output terminal of the operational amplifier, and provides the output voltage to the second input terminal of the operational amplifier.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the operational amplifier includes a differential input circuit and a load circuit. The differential input circuit is coupled to a first reference voltage, and the differential input circuit has a first input stage circuit and a second input stage circuit. The conductive resistors of the first and second input stage circuits are adjusted according to the control signal in order to adjust the offset voltage. The load circuit is coupled between the differential input circuit and a second reference voltage, in which a contact of one of the load circuit and the differential input circuit is coupled to the output terminal of the operational amplifier.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the first input stage circuit includes a first transistor and at least one first tuning transistor. The first transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The control terminal of the first transistor receives the input voltage, the first terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the load circuit, and the second terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the second reference voltage. The first tuning transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The control terminal of the first tuning transistor receives the control signal, the first terminal of the first tuning transistor is coupled to the first terminal of the first transistor, and the second terminal of the first tuning transistor is coupled to the second terminal of the first transistor.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the second input stage circuit includes a second transistor and at least one second tuning transistor. The second transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The control terminal of the second transistor receives the input voltage, the first terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the load circuit, and the second terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the second reference voltage. The second tuning transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The control terminal of the second tuning transistor receives the control signal, the first terminal of the second tuning transistor is coupled to the first terminal of the second transistor, and the second terminal of the second tuning transistor is coupled to the second terminal of the second transistor.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the load circuit includes a first resistor and a second resistor, and the first resistor is connected in series between the first input stage circuit and the first reference voltage. The second resistor is connected in series between the second input stage circuit and the first reference voltage.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the load circuit includes a first transistor and a second transistor. The first transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The first terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the first reference voltage, and the second terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the first input stage circuit. The second transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The first terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the first reference voltage, the second terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the second input stage circuit and the control terminal of the second transistor, and the control terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the control terminal of the first transistor.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a channel width to length ratio of the first transistor and/or the second transistor is adjusted according to the control signal.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the offset voltage tuner includes a plurality of first and second voltage selectors. The first voltage selectors are coupled to the operational amplifier. The first voltage selectors generate a first control signal in the control signal according to a selection of the second reference voltage or the input voltage. The second voltage selectors are coupled to the operational amplifier. The second voltage selectors generate a second control signal in the control signal according to a selection of the second reference voltage or the output voltage. The first control signal is transmitted to the first input stage circuit, and the second control signal is transmitted to the second input stage circuit.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the operational amplifier includes a differential input circuit and a load circuit. The differential input circuit is coupled to a first reference voltage, and the differential input circuit has a first input stage circuit and a second input stage circuit. The load circuit is coupled between the differential input circuit and a second reference voltage. The load circuit respectively provides a first impedance and a second impedance to the first and second input stage circuits. The first and second impedances are respectively adjusted according to the control signal.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the load circuit includes a first transistor. The first transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The first terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the first reference voltage, and the second terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the first input stage circuit. A channel width to length ratio of the first transistor is adjusted according to the control signal.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the load circuit further includes a second transistor. The second transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The first terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the first reference voltage, the second terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the second input stage circuit and the control terminal of the second transistor, and the control terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the control terminal of the first transistor. A channel width to length ratio of the second transistor is adjusted according to the control signal.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the offset voltage tuner generates the control signal having at least one bit.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the operational amplifier is a transconductance amplifier.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the output stage circuit includes a first output stage transistor and a second output stage transistor. The first output stage transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The first terminal of the first output stage transistor receives the first reference voltage, the second terminal of the first output stage transistor generates the output voltage, and the control terminal of the first output stage transistor is coupled to the output terminal of the operational amplifier. The second output stage transistor has a first terminal, a second terminal, and a control terminal. The first terminal of the second output stage transistor generates the output voltage, the second terminal of the second output stage transistor is coupled to the second reference voltage, and the control terminal of the second output stage transistor receives an offset voltage.
In summary, by adjusting the offset voltage of the operational amplifier, embodiments of the invention can adjust the voltage value of the output voltage generated by the voltage generator. Therefore, the voltage generator can avoid the use of a large amount of voltage dividing resistors for voltage division. Moreover, the large layout area to compensate for resistance shift due to resistor manufacturing can be reduced. Accordingly, without affecting the accuracy of the output voltage generated by the voltage generator, embodiments of the invention can effectively save on the circuit cost and also reduce the electric energy consumed by the voltage dividing resistors.
Several exemplary embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below to further describe the disclosure in details.
The accompanying drawings constituting a part of this specification are incorporated herein to provide a further understanding of the disclosure. Here, the drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
With reference to
The offset voltage tuner 220 is coupled to the operational amplifier 210. The offset voltage tuner 220 provides the control signal CTR. The control signal CTR may be formed by one or more of digital signals, and the control signal CTR may also be formed by one or more analog voltages. It should be appreciated that the control signal CTR may also be a hybrid signal formed by one or more analog voltages and digital signals.
The output stage circuit 230 is coupled to the output terminal and the input terminal I2 of the operational amplifier 210. The output stage circuit 230 generates the output voltage Vout according to a voltage on the output terminal of the operational amplifier 210, and provides the output voltage Vout to the input terminal I2 of the operational amplifier 210.
During operation of the voltage generator 200, when the output voltage Vout generated by the voltage generator 200 is adjusted, the offset voltage Vos of the operational amplifier 210 can be adjusted simply through the control signal CTR provided by the offset voltage tuner 220. Accordingly, the voltage on the output terminal of the operational amplifier 210 is also correspondingly adjusted. That is to say, the output stage circuit 230 generating the output voltage Vout according to the voltage on the output terminal of the operational amplifier 210 can also adjust the voltage value of the generated output voltage Vout.
With reference to
When the offset voltage of the operational amplifier 210 is adjusted, the offset voltage tuner respectively transmits the control signals CTR<0>-CTR<3> to the control terminals (gates) of the tuning transistors Mm0, Mm1, Mn0, and Mn1. In the present embodiment, the control signals CTR<0>-CTR<1> may be equal to the ground voltage GND or equal to the input voltage Vref, and the control signals CTR<2>-CTR<3> may be equal to the ground voltage GND or equal to the input voltage Vout. Taking the tuning transistor Mm0 as an example, when the control signal CTR<0> received by the control terminal of the tuning transistor Mm0 is equal to the ground voltage GND, the tuning transistor Mm0 is cut off. Moreover, taking the tuning transistor Mn0 as an example, when the control signal CTR<2> received by the control terminal of the tuning transistor Mn0 is equal to the ground voltage GND, the tuning transistor Mn0 is cut off.
Referring to
In comparison, when the control signals CTR<0>-CTR<2> are equal to the ground voltage GND, and the control signal CTR<3> is equal to the output voltage Vout, the output voltage Vout is equal to the input voltage Vref subtracted by the offset voltage Vosn<0>. The offset voltage Vosn<0> is a voltage difference between a source and a drain of the tuning transistor Mn0. When the control signals CTR<0>-CTR<1> are equal to the ground voltage GND, and the control signals CTR<2>-CTR<3> are equal to the output voltage Vout, the output voltage Vout is equal to the input voltage Vref subtracted by the offset voltage Vosn<0> and an offset voltage Vosn<1> (Vout=Vref−Vosn<0>−Vosn<1>). The offset voltage Vosn<1> is a voltage difference between a source and a drain of the tuning transistor Mn1.
The offset voltages Vsm<0>, Vsm<1>, Vsn<0>, and Vsn<1> can be configured by setting the conductive resistors of the tuning transistors Mm0, Mm1, Mn0, and Mn1. A designer may set suitable tuning transistors Mm0, Mm1, Mn0, and Mn1 according to a required adjustable range of the output voltage Vout of the voltage generator 200.
With reference to
With reference to
It should be noted that, the output stage circuit 530 in the present embodiment do not require voltage dividing resistors to provide the feedback voltage to the operational amplifier 510. Therefore, the issue of resistors which occupy large areas can be resolved, which drastically reduces the circuit cost of the voltage generator 500.
With reference to
In the present embodiment, the transistors M3 and M4 respectively provide two resistances to the transistors M1 and M2. It should be noted that, when the output voltage Vout is adjusted, besides tuning the differential input circuit 620, the resistances provided by the transistors M3 and M4 can also be tuned to adjust the output voltage Vout. In the present embodiment, the transistors M3 and M4 respectively or simultaneously adjust their conductive resistors according to the control signals CTRA1 and CTRA2 (e.g., by adjusting the channel width to length ratio of the transistor (W/L)).
With reference to
With reference to
In
It should be noted that, the control signals CTRA11-CTRA13 and CTRA21-CTRA23 in
In view of the foregoing, by adjusting the offset voltage of the operational amplifier, embodiments of the invention can adjust the voltage value of the output voltage generated by the voltage generator. No variable resistors need to be constructed in the invention to serve as the basis for the adjustments. Accordingly, the voltage generator do not require large area resistors, and circuit cost can be saved effectively.
Although the invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it will be apparent to one of the ordinary skill in the art that modifications to the described embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention will be defined by the attached claims not by the above detailed descriptions.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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101147281 | Dec 2012 | TW | national |