Patent Publication Number: US-2023135571-A1

Title: Voltage regulator circuit and method for regulating a voltage

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     This disclosure relates generally to electronic circuits, and more particularly, to a voltage regulator circuit and method for regulating a voltage. 
     Related Art 
     Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) refers to a wireless system comprised of two components: a tag and a reader. The reader is a device that has one or more antennas that emit radio waves and receive signals back from the RFID tag. Tags, which use radio waves to communicate their identity and other information to nearby readers, can be passive or active. Passive RFID tags are powered by the reader and do not have a battery. Active RFID tags are powered by batteries. RFID is a wireless communication technology that acts over short to medium distances for two-way communication. The use of RFID tags is growing in several markets, including the medical, consumer, retail, industrial, automotive, smart grid markets, logistics and avionics. Due to internal or external factors such as distance from the other device or tag, nearby objects, etc. the tag needs to be tuned to balance the impedance to optimize the received signal strength before a data read cycle starts. Further, the internal components of a tag need to be protected from overvoltage. 
     Current shunt regulators are mainly composed of a voltage reference, a resistive divider, and an operational amplifier to achieve a relatively constant regulated voltage independently of the shunt current. The required area and power consumption of such an implementation makes it generally unsuitable for RFID applications. 
     Therefore, what is needed is a voltage regulator for RFID applications that has relatively lower complexity, lower power consumption, and reduced surface area. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is illustrated by way of example and is not limited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a voltage limiter circuit in accordance with the prior art. 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a voltage regulator circuit in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a graph for input voltage and current sunk by the prior art voltage limiter of  FIG.  1    and the voltage regulator of  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a voltage regulator circuit in accordance with another embodiment. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates a method for regulating a voltage in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Generally, there is provided, a voltage regulator circuit for limiting and regulating a voltage source for a passive RFID application. The voltage regulator includes a feedback circuit that monitors a relatively weak avalanche current between a body terminal and a drain of a P-channel metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) shunt transistor. The feedback is applied to the gate of the shunt transistor to cancel threshold voltage and high output impedance variations and keep the voltage source regulated. 
     The voltage regulator allows a reduction of a geometry and associated parasitic components of the shunt transistor. Additionally, the feedback circuit, based on the weak-avalanche current of the MOSFET shunt transistor, guarantees lower temperature and process variations and a smaller spread of local distributions. 
     For an RFID application, the voltage regulator allows a dynamically field dependent compensation, which not only eases the protection of an RFID device against over-voltage damage, but also allows the control of key parameters as input impedance and return link field strength. 
     In accordance with an embodiment, there is provided, a voltage regulator circuit including: a shunt transistor having a first current electrode coupled to a first voltage source terminal, a second current electrode coupled to a second voltage source terminal, a control electrode coupled to receive a reference voltage, and a body electrode; and a feedback circuit having an input coupled to the body electrode of the shunt transistor, and an output terminal coupled to the control electrode of the shunt transistor. The feedback circuit may further include: a first current mirror having an input terminal coupled to the body electrode of the shunt transistor, and an output terminal; and a second current mirror having an input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the first current mirror, and an output terminal coupled to the control electrode of the shunt transistor. The shunt transistor may include a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), wherein a relatively weak avalanche current between the body electrode and the first current electrode may be used to apply a feedback current to the shunt transistor. The voltage regulator circuit may further include a voltage reference circuit coupled between the first and second voltage source terminals, and an output terminal for providing the reference voltage. The voltage regulator circuit may further include: an amplifier having a first input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the voltage reference circuit, a second input terminal, and an output terminal coupled to the control electrode of the shunt transistor; and a resistor divider coupled between the first voltage source terminal and the second voltage source terminal, the resistor divider having an output terminal coupled to the second input terminal of the amplifier. The output terminal of the feedback circuit may be coupled to one or more amplifiers, the resistor divider, and the voltage reference circuit. The voltage regulator circuit may be implemented in a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or integrated circuit. The RFID tag or integrated circuit may be a passive device powered by an electromagnetic field generated by an active RFID device. The voltage regulator circuit may further include a voltage reference circuit for providing the reference voltage, the voltage reference circuit comprising: a current mirror having a first terminal coupled to the first voltage source, a second terminal coupled to a current source, and an output terminal; and a plurality of series-connected diodes having a terminal of a first diode of the plurality of series-connected diodes coupled to the output terminal of the current mirror, and a terminal of a last diode of the plurality of series-connected diodes coupled to the second voltage source. 
     In another embodiment, there is provided, a voltage regulator circuit including: a voltage reference circuit coupled between a first voltage source terminal and second voltage source terminal, and an output terminal for providing a reference voltage; a shunt transistor having a first current electrode coupled to the first voltage source terminal, a second current electrode coupled to a second voltage source terminal, a control electrode coupled to receive a reference voltage, and a body electrode; and a feedback circuit having an input terminal coupled to the body electrode of the shunt transistor, and an output terminal coupled to the control electrode of the shunt transistor. The feedback circuit may further include: a first current mirror having an input terminal coupled to the body electrode of the shunt transistor, and an output terminal; and a second current mirror having an input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the first current mirror, and an output terminal coupled to the control electrode of the shunt transistor. The voltage regulator circuit may further include a voltage reference circuit for providing the reference voltage, the voltage reference circuit including: a current mirror having a first terminal coupled to the first voltage source terminal, a second terminal coupled to a current source, and an output terminal; and a plurality of series-connected diodes having a terminal of a first diode of the plurality of series-connected diodes coupled to the output terminal of the current mirror, and a terminal of a last diode of the plurality of series-connected diodes coupled to the second voltage source terminal. The shunt transistor may include a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), wherein a relatively weak avalanche current between the body electrode and the first current electrode may be used to apply a feedback current to the shunt transistor. The voltage regulator circuit may further include: an amplifier having a first input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the voltage reference circuit, a second input terminal, and an output terminal coupled to the control electrode of the shunt transistor; and a resistor divider coupled between the first voltage source terminal and the second voltage source terminal, the resistor divider having an output terminal coupled to the second input terminal of the amplifier. The output terminal of the feedback circuit may be coupled to one or more of the amplifier, the resistor divider, and the voltage reference circuit. 
     In yet another embodiment, there is provided, a method for regulating a voltage in a radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit, the method including: providing a reference voltage to a control electrode of a shunt transistor having a first current electrode coupled to a first voltage source terminal and a second current electrode coupled to a second voltage source terminal; and providing a feedback path from a body terminal of the shunt transistor to the control electrode of the shunt transistor, wherein the feedback path reduces current caused by the reference voltage at the control electrode of the shunt transistor to keep a source voltage between the first and second voltage source terminals relatively constant. Providing a feedback path may further include: mirroring a current at the body electrode of the shunt transistor with a first current mirror to produce a first output current; mirroring the first output current from the first current mirror with a second current mirror to produce a second output current; and providing the second output current to the control electrode of the shunt transistor. The shunt transistor may be a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), wherein a relatively weak avalanche current between the body electrode and the first current electrode may be used to forward bias the shunt transistor. The method may be implemented in a voltage regulator circuit in a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag or integrated circuit. The RFID tag or integrated circuit may be a passive device powered by an electromagnetic field generated by an active RFID device. 
     RFID tags can store a range of information from one serial number to several pages of data. RFID tags can be mobile so that they can be hand carried, or they can be mounted on a post or overhead. RFID systems can also be built into the architecture of a cabinet, room, or building. NFC is a technology based on RFID technology. NFC technology can be used to provide peer-to-peer communication or one way communication. When two NFC enabled devices are very close to each other, about 4 cm or less, they can communicate with each other using the radio waves. Of the two devices communicating using NFC, at least one of them has to be an active device (powered). In many cases, the powered RFID device may be a smartphone, tablet, security pad, or a payment terminal. The other device can be either active or passive (unpowered). NFC is one among many other RFID technologies. For example, RAIN RFID, by the RAIN Alliance, is the adoption of ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID technology in a way similar to other wireless technology organizations including NFC Forum, WiFi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG. RAIN RFID uses the GS1 UHF Gen2 protocol which ISO/IEC has standardized as 18000-63. RAIN RFID is intended as a nod to the link between UHF RFID and the cloud, where RFID-based data can be stored, managed and shared via the internet. A RAIN RFID solution uses a reader to read and write a tagged item, manage the data and take action. RAIN RFID tags are either attached to or embedded in items. Tagged items store and send information. RAIN RFID readers have antenna(s) for either short or long range communication. 
     In an active peer-to-peer (P2P) mode, two active devices can create a wireless communication channel between them. Also, an active device, with an external power supply, can power a passive device with the electromagnetic field generated by the active device and create a wireless communication channel. NFC passive devices are used in many applications because the passive NFC device can be a simple tag. NFC devices communicate with each other via radio waves. The active NFC device has to be enabled (turned on) first. The radio waves for NFC are generated using an antenna. NFC works by exploiting the properties of electromagnetic fields, using the inductive coupling between NFC devices. NFC devices operate at 13.56 MHz, which is a license-free section of HF on the RF spectrum. RAIN RFID devices operate in a range from 800 MHz to 1 GHz. 
     The strength of the received signal may be dependent of the distance as well as external factors such as nearby objects, human touch, etc. Therefore, in some examples, RFID tags may include a switchable capacitor bank that includes a plurality of capacitors coupled with switches. The value of the capacitor may be changed by turning one or more of these switches on or off. The input impedance of the receiver antenna may be changed by changing the capacitor value to optimize the signal strength of the input signal. A voltage limiter is used to limit the input voltage to a predefined level to protect internal components of the RFID tag from overvoltage. Typically, voltage limiter circuits for low power RFID applications consume relatively high amounts of current even when the input voltage is below the predefined voltage level. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates voltage limiter circuit  10  in accordance with the prior art. Voltage limiter circuit  10  includes voltage reference circuit  11  and shunt transistor  18 . Voltage reference circuit  11  includes a current mirror comprising diode-connected P-channel transistor  12  and P-channel transistor  13 . Voltage reference circuit  11  also includes a current source  17  and a plurality of P-channel series-connected and diode-connected transistors  14 ,  15 , and  16 . All of the transistors of voltage limiter circuit  10  are P-channel MOSFETs. A reference voltage VREF provided by voltage reference circuit  11  is provided to a gate of shunt transistor  18  to control a shunt current as a function of a voltage provided at voltage terminals VS and VD. A voltage versus current waveform plot  42  in  FIG.  3    shows that the voltage of voltage limiter circuit  10  drifts up as current increases. Voltage limiter circuit  10  provides almost no voltage regulation at higher current. 
       FIG.  2    illustrates voltage regulator circuit  20  in accordance with an embodiment. Voltage regulator circuit  20  includes voltage reference circuit  21 , shunt transistor  28 , and a feedback circuit including current mirror  29  and current mirror  33 . Voltage reference circuit  21  is similar to voltage reference circuit  11  of  FIG.  1    and includes P-channel transistors  22 - 26  and current source  27 . Transistors  22  and  23  form a current mirror and transistors  24 - 26  are connected in series and are diode-connected, having their gates connected to their drains. All the transistors of voltage reference circuit  21  are P-channel transistors. Like voltage limiter  10 , voltage regulator  20  provides reference voltage VREF to the gate of shunt transistor  28  as a function of the voltage source provided at terminals VS and VD. The voltage source may be provided inductively or radiatively from an active RFID device or reader. A feedback path from the body terminal of shunt transistor  28  to the gate of shunt transistor  28  includes current mirrors  29  and  33 . The body terminal may be a bulk terminal or a well terminal depending on the semiconductor manufacturing process. Current mirror  29  of the feedback path includes P-channel transistors  31  and  32  and current mirror  33  includes N-channel transistors  34  and  35 . Shunt transistor  28  includes a source (first current electrode) connected to a first voltage source terminal labeled “VS”, a drain (second current electrode) connected to a second voltage source terminal labeled “VD”, a gate (control electrode) connected to a drain of transistor  23 , and a body terminal. Note that voltage regulator circuit  20  is constructed using complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistors. In other embodiments, voltage regulator circuit  20  can be constructed from different transistor types. The voltage provided at the first and second voltage terminals may be produced by an electromagnetic field of an active RFID device. P-channel transistor  31  has a source connected to voltage source terminal VS, and a gate and a drain connected to the body terminal of shunt transistor  28 . P-channel transistor  32  has a source connected to voltage source terminal VS, a gate connected to the gate of transistor  31 , and a drain. Diode-connected N-channel transistor  34  has a gate and a drain connected to the drain of transistor  32 , and a source connected to second voltage source VD. N-channel transistor  35  has a source connected to the gate of shunt transistor  28 , a gate connected to the gate and drain of transistor  34 , and a drain connected to voltage source terminal VD. Except for shunt transistor  28 , all the other transistors in voltage regulator circuit  20  have their body terminals connected in a conventional manner and therefore are not shown in  FIG.  2   . For example, the P-channel transistors have their body terminals tied to their source terminals and the N-channel transistors have their body terminals tied to their source terminals. 
     For a MOSFET biased in saturation, such as shunt transistor  28 , the electric field at the drain side may reach very high values. In this case, electrons travelling through the channel from source to drain are accelerated and gain so much energy that they can create extra electron-hole pairs by exciting electrons from the valence band into the conduction band. The generated electrons and holes are collected by the drain and body terminal, respectively. In this way, an avalanche of free carriers may arise, and the initial flux of carriers is multiplied until, possibly, a complete breakdown occurs in the transistor. In a typical MOSFET during normal operation, only low-level avalanche multiplication or weak avalanche occurs and may result in a significant body current, assuming that all the generated holes are collected by the body terminal. When this happens, the drain current is no longer equal to the channel current. The drain current (I D ) is now equal to the channel current (I DS ) plus a body current (I B ). That is, I D =I DS +I B . The body current I B  is formed by an avalanche current which is proportional to the channel current I DS . The ratio between I DS  and I B  depends on an electron impact ionization coefficient per unit length which is a strong function of the lateral electric field. This coefficient is higher for electrons (n) than for holes (p), therefore the effect of body current is more severe in NMOS than in PMOS. Generally, a difference between the proportional body current and the channel current is from one to several orders of magnitude dependent on the process technology, oxide thickness, and other geometrical parameters. Above a certain drain-source voltage, the channel current of shunt transistor  28  can be monitored by measuring the body current. This process dependent high ratio between the channel and body currents allows the channel current to be approximated using the body current and the drain current with a small error. The relatively weak avalanche current from the body of the shunt transistor is used to apply a feedback current to the gate of the shunt transistor. 
     For a CMOS implementation such as shown in  FIG.  2   , one embodiment uses a diode-connected metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor to mirror the current. By using the relation between the channel and body currents, diode-connected MOS transistor  31  can therefore be used to monitor the current through the body to the drain. The diode forces a forward biasing condition, which slightly modifies the proportionality between the currents and changes the device operating point. 
     Voltage regulator  20  is based on voltage limiter  10 . To provide regulated behavior from voltage regulator  20 , current mirrors  29  and  33  provide a feedback path from the body terminal of shunt transistor  28  to the gate of shunt transistor  28 . The feedback path pulls current from the gate of shunt transistor  28  and prevents the source voltage from drifting up due to the increased shunt current.  FIG.  3    shows a graph comparing plot  42  from voltage limiter  10  to plot  44  of voltage regulator  20 . This voltage increase for voltage limiter  10  comes from the high output impedance of the shunt transistor. The voltage increase is reduced in voltage regulator  20  by the feedback current. The gate feedback that is provided to shunt transistor  28  is built by pulling out a proportional current of the body current from a VREF node of voltage reference circuit  21 . This proportional current may be a multiple or a sub-multiple of the body current. The feedback current pulls current from the reference voltage circuit  21  in order to compensate the gate voltage to keep the source voltage relatively constant for a wide current range of shunt transistor  28 . This feedback provides the voltage regulator function for voltage regulator  20 . 
       FIG.  3    illustrates a graph for the source voltage by the prior art voltage limiter  10  of  FIG.  1    and voltage regulator  20  of  FIG.  2   . The source voltage is derived by rectifying the voltage received inductively from an external reader. A voltage limiter, such as voltage limiter  10 , is typically used after the input rectifier stage so that the downstream components can be protected from overvoltage. The overvoltage may occur when the RFID tag is brought into a relatively higher field strength region near the reader. RFID tags are low power devices and a current of even a few nano amperes sunk by the typical voltage limiter at lower voltages may inhibit the operations of the RFID tag by depriving the other components of the power. For example, a memory reading operation may require a minimum amount of power which may not be available if the voltage limiter starts to sink current at voltages lower than a predefined voltage level. Using voltage regulator  20  instead of a voltage limiter reduces this problem. Plot  42  depicts the I-V (current-voltage) characteristics of voltage limiter circuit  10 . Plot  44  depicts the I-V characteristics of voltage regulator  20 . As can be seen, the use of the feedback path from the body of the shunt transistor of voltage regulator  20  provides a much flatter I-V characteristic than voltage limiter  10 . Also, voltage regulator  20  provides the advantages of reduced shunt transistor size and higher robustness against process and temperature variations. 
     In other embodiments, both the body current monitoring element and the feedback can be included in other voltage limiter circuits by a person skilled in the art. For instance, the current may be monitored as a voltage drop in a particular impedance being captured by an amplifier, such as an operational amplifier, error amplifier, or the like, to generate a suitable voltage to bias the shunt transistor gate to achieve the regulation. For example,  FIG.  4    illustrates a voltage regulator circuit  50  in accordance with another embodiment. Voltage regulator circuit  50  includes resistor divider  51 , voltage reference  54 , operational amplifier  55 , shunt transistor  56 , and current monitor  57 . Resistor divider  51  includes resistors  52  and  53 . 
     As can be seen, voltage regulator circuit  50  is a complete conventional shunt regulator scheme adapted to have the feedback path starting from the body of shunt transistor  56 . The feedback voltage can be applied in some or all individual components of voltage regulator  50  to achieve the regulation. This is illustrated in  FIG.  4    with a dashed line from current monitor  57  to amplifier  55 , reference  54 , and resistor divider  51 . In one embodiment, current monitor  57  and the feedback circuit may be implemented similarly to diode-connected transistor  31  in  FIG.  2   . 
     However, the more complex the circuit, the less suitable it becomes for RFID tag use, as area and power consumption increases substantially. Note that the described embodiments can be used in a reversed complementary MOS implementation, with an NMOS current sinking transistor instead of the illustrated PMOS current sinking transistor. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates method  60  for regulating a voltage in a circuit in accordance with an embodiment. Method  60  begins at step  62 . At step  62 , a reference voltage is provided to a gate (control electrode) of a shunt transistor. The shunt transistor has a first drain/source terminal (first current electrode) coupled to a first voltage source terminal, and a second drain/source terminal (second current electrode) coupled to a second voltage source terminal. At step  64 , a feedback current is provided on a feedback path from a body terminal of the shunt transistor to the gate of the shunt transistor. The feedback path reduces current caused by the reference voltage at the gate of the shunt transistor. This keeps a source voltage between the first and second voltage source terminals relatively constant. 
     Compared to conventional voltage limiter  10 , voltage regulator  20  provides a more regulated output voltage without greatly increasing to complexity of the circuit. The more regulated output voltage allows more energy to be retained in an RFID device and is only limited by the technology, not by the available current. Also, the feedback provided to the gate of the shunt transistor provides a “boosting” effect which increases drive capability and allows the size of the shunt transistor to be reduced. In addition to the reduced size, the feedback provides better robustness against process and temperature variations and the effects of inherent parasitic components of shunt transistor  28 . 
     Various embodiments, or portions of the embodiments, may be implemented in hardware or as instructions on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium including any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine, such as a personal computer, laptop computer, file server, smart phone, or other computing device. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium may include volatile and non-volatile memories such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage medium, flash memory, and the like. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium excludes transitory signals. 
     Although the invention is described herein with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. Any benefits, advantages, or solutions to problems that are described herein with regard to specific embodiments are not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims. 
     Furthermore, the terms “a” or “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. Also, the use of introductory phrases such as “at least one” and “one or more” in the claims should not be construed to imply that the introduction of another claim element by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an.” The same holds true for the use of definite articles. 
     Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is not intended to be limited to a direct coupling or a mechanical coupling.