Patent Abstract:
In one embodiment, in a power converter system having first and second switches connected in a half-bridge arrangement at a common node from which current flows through an inductor to a regulated output terminal, wherein the regulated output terminal is connectable to a load, wherein the first and second switches are turned on and off in cycles, a method is provided for synchronous rectification. The method includes: initiating a cycle in which the first switch is turned on; developing a timer based on the on-time of the first switch during the cycle; turning off the first switch and turning on the second switch during the cycle; and outputting a control signal to turn off the second switch when either the timer expires or a new cycle is initiated to turn on the first switch, thereby providing synchronous rectification in the power converter system.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to power converters, and more particularly, to time-based synchronous rectification in a power converter. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Power converters are essential for many modern electronic devices. Among other capabilities, power converters can adjust voltage level downward (buck converter) or adjust voltage level upward (boost converter). Power converters may also convert from alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power, or vice versa. Power converters are typically implemented using one or more switching devices, such as transistors, which are turned on and off to deliver power to the output of the converter. Control circuitry is provided to regulate the turning on and off of the switching devices, and thus, these converters are known as “switching voltage regulators” or “switching voltage converters.” The power converters may also include one or more capacitors or inductors for alternately storing and outputting energy. 
     Switching voltage converters can be used in low power applications such as portable electronic devices (e.g., laptop computers, cell phones, etc.), for example, to convert a voltage at a higher level (e.g., 5V) to a voltage at a lower level (e.g., 1V). To maximize efficiency in switching voltage converters, it is desirable to prevent current from reversing in the output inductor. Reverse current flow at light load degrades efficiency by increasing the RMS current that flows through switching elements and the output inductor. This RMS current causes unnecessary losses. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a power converter system having first and second switches connected in a half-bridge arrangement at a common node from which current flows through an inductor to a regulated output terminal, wherein the regulated output terminal is connectable to a load, wherein the first and second switches are turned on and off in cycles, a method is provided for synchronous rectification. The method includes: initiating a cycle in which the first switch is turned on; developing a timer based on the on-time of the first switch during the cycle; turning off the first switch and turning on the second switch during the cycle; and outputting a control signal to turn off the second switch when either the timer expires or a new cycle is initiated to turn on the first switch, thereby providing synchronous rectification in the power converter system. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, in a DC-to-DC power converter system having first and second switches connected in a half-bridge arrangement at a common node from which current flows through an inductor to a regulated output terminal, wherein the regulated output terminal is connectable to an output capacitor and a load, a method is provided for synchronous rectification. The method includes providing a timing clock signal; starting the timing clock signal when the first switch is turned off; and outputting a control signal to turn off the second switch when either the PWM modulator begins a new cycle to turn on the first switch or when the timing clock signal times out. 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, a power converter system includes first and second switches connected in a half-bridge arrangement at a common node. The first and second switches are turned on and off in cycles. An inductor is connected between the common node and a regulated output terminal, which is connectable to a load. A predictive timing circuit is operable to start a timing clock signal when the first switch is turned off after one cycle. The predictive timing circuit is operable to output a control signal to turn off the second switch when either another cycle begins or when the timing clock signal times out. 
     Important technical advantages of the present invention are readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, descriptions, and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present invention and for further features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a power converter system with time-based synchronous rectification, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2A  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of a timer block, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2B  is a schematic diagram of another exemplary implementation of a timer block, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an exemplary state diagram for time-based synchronous rectification, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  are exemplary waveform diagrams for time-based synchronous rectification, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention and their advantages are best understood by referring to  FIGS. 1 through 4B  of the drawings. Like numerals are used for like and corresponding parts of the various drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an implementation of a power converter system  10  with time-based synchronous rectification, according to an embodiment of the invention. Power converter system  10  is a switching regulator and can provide a direct current (DC) power. Power converter  10  can be incorporated in or used with any electronic device in which a DC-to-DC converter as described herein is needed. Power converter system  10  receives an input voltage VIN and provides the DC power to a load at an output terminal VOUT. In one embodiment, power converter system  10  can be a synchronous buck converter which convert a voltage at a higher level (e.g., 5V) to a voltage at a lower level (e.g., 1V). As shown, power converter system  10  includes a power output circuit  12 , a logic and control circuit  14 , an input capacitor  16 , an inductor  18 , and an output capacitor  20 . 
     The inductor  18  is coupled to the output capacitor  20  at the output terminal of the power converter system  10 . As used herein, the terms “coupled” or “connected,” or any variant thereof, covers any coupling or connection, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements. The power output circuit  12  is coupled to the inductor  18 . Power output circuit  12  may comprise one or more switches  32  which are turned on when the PWM signal of logic circuit  14  is high and turned off when the PWM signal is low to ramp up and down the current of inductor  18 , thereby providing current to the load connected to VOUT and to charge and discharge output capacitor  20 . 
     In one implementation, as depicted, power output circuit  12  comprises switches  32 ,  34  (also referred to as Q 1 , Q 2 ). Switches  32  and  34  are connected at a switching node (SW) in a half-bridge arrangement, with Q 1  switch  32  being the “high-side” switch and Q 2  switch  34  being the “low-side” switch. As the high-side switch, switch  32  may be connected between the input voltage VIN and node SW. As the low-side switch, switch  34  may be connected between the node SW and ground (GND). Each of switches  32  and  34  can be implemented with any suitable device, such as, for example, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), an IGBT, a MOS-gated thyristor, or other suitable power device. Each switch  32 ,  34  has a gate to which driving voltage may be applied to turn the switch on or off. 
     Logic and control circuit  14  is connected to the gates of switches  32  and  34 , and outputs control signals for turning on and off the switches  32  and  34 . When logic and control circuit  14  turns on high-side switch  32 , the power converter system  10  ramps up the inductor current of inductor  18  and charges up output capacitor  20 . When logic and control circuit  14  turns on low-side switch  34 , the power converter system  10  ramps down the current of inductor  18  and discharges output capacitor  20 . The switches  32  and  34  are alternately driven. That is, the high-side switch  32  is not turned on simultaneously with the low-side switch  34 . Low-side switch  34  provides synchronous rectification for power converter system  10 . For synchronous rectification, switch  34  is turned off during the charge cycle for inductor  18 , and turned on during the discharge cycle of inductor  18 . 
     According to previously developed techniques, the synchronous rectifier in a switching voltage converter is controlled by detecting the inductor current and turning off the synchronous rectifier when the inductor current reaches zero. Detecting the inductor current is typically done by sensing the voltage at the SW node when switch Q 2  is on. This requires a high-speed, very low offset comparator. The demands on the design of that comparator go up as switching frequency increases, and as the RDS(ON) of switch Q 2  is small. In particular, because clock rates have now moved above 10 MHz, the propagation delay of that comparator can create a significant error, reducing efficiency by turning off the synchronous rectifier late. 
     In various embodiments, the present invention provides a different way to control the synchronous rectifier in a switching regulator. In some embodiments, the invention predicts when the synchronous rectifier (switch  34 ) should be turned off based on the input voltage VIN, the output voltage VOUT, and the on-time of the high-side switch  32 . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , logic and control circuit  14  may include a modulator block  22 , a timer block  24 , a driver block  26 , and a AND gate  28 . Modulator block  22  receives VOUT as a feedback signal. Modulator block  22  outputs a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal, which is provided to driver block  26 . Driver block  26  drives the gate of the high-side switch  32  to turn it on when the PWM signal is high, and off when the PWM signal is low. Implementations for modulator block  22  and driver block  26  are understood to one of ordinary skill in the art. The output signal from driver block  26  is also provided to one input of AND gate  28 . The other input of AND gate  28  is coupled to receive an output signal from timer block  24 . AND gate  28  provides an output signal for driving the gate of low-side switch  34 . 
     Timer block  24  receives the PWM signal from modulator block  22 . Timer block  24  generally functions to provide or support a timer by which synchronous rectification is controlled, at least in part. In particular, with timer block  24 , logic and control circuit  14  implements a time-based technique for turning off the synchronous rectifier (low-side switch  34 ). In its simplest form, a timer is started when the high-side switch  32  turns off (e.g., the PWM signal goes low). Timer block  24  outputs a signal (Q 2  OFF) which turns off the synchronous rectifier (low-side switch  34 ) when the first of the following two events occurs: (1) a new PWM cycle is begun (e.g., the PWM signal goes high), causing high-side switch  32  to turn on; (2) the timer block  24  expires or times out. The power converter system  10  operates in a single mode at all times, with synchronous rectification based on predictive timing, and does not require sensing the current in the inductor  18  or the voltage on the SW node. 
     In some embodiments, the timer implemented by timer block  24  may be fixed—i.e., it times out after a predetermined period of time. 
     In other embodiments, the timer can vary, for example, as a function of the time that the high-side switch  32  is turned on during the relevant cycle. Such embodiments take advantage of the fact that the slope of the current through the inductor  18  is a function of VIN and VOUT. The modulator block  22  determines or derives the on time (T ON ) for the high-side switch  32 . The low-side switch  34  (i.e., the synchronous rectifier) turns on when the high side switch  32  turns off, and turns off either when PWM signal goes high or when timer block  24  times out. The time that timer block  24  expires can be set to correspond to the time that it takes to discharge the current that was built up when the high-side switch  32  was on. 
     In particular, for the latter embodiments, to develop the timing signal, the following relationships are observed. 
     The duty cycle (D) of a buck converter is based on the ratio of VIN and VOUT: 
                   D   ≅       V   ⁢   OUT       V   ⁢   IN               (   1   )                 T     O   ⁢           ⁢   N       =       D   ·     T     S   ⁢           ⁢   W         =     D     F     S   ⁢           ⁢   W                   (   2   )                 T     O   ⁢           ⁢   F   ⁢           ⁢   F       =       (     1   -   D     )     ⁢           ·     T     S   ⁢           ⁢   W                 (   3   )               
where F SW  is the switching frequency and T SW  is the switching period. The change inductor current (ΔI) during the T ON  is:
 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
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                   4 
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     The inductor current change (ΔI) during the T OFF  is: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   Δl 
                   = 
                   
                     
                       
                         V 
                         
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                         OUT 
                       
                       
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     Thus, in some embodiments, the timer of timer block  24  times out or ends when the volt-seconds of T OFF  equals the volt-seconds of the preceding T ON . As such, embodiments of the invention may implement a technique to turn off the synchronous rectifier (low-side switch  34 ) based on a volt-second balance (time) for synchronous buck converters. This may have the effect of causing almost no extra dead-time during steady-state and only small increases in dead-time during transients. 
     Embodiments of the invention can provide for low-power operation. The embodiments may also make facilitate or allow low power operation of a power converter or regulator at high frequencies. 
     In various embodiments, all or a portion of power converter system  10  can be implemented on a single or multiple semiconductor dies (commonly referred to as a “chip”) or discrete components. Each die is a monolithic structure formed from, for example, silicon or other suitable material. For implementations using multiple dies or components, the dies and components can be assembled on a printed circuit board (PCB) having various traces for conveying signals there between. In one embodiment, power output circuit  12  is implemented on one die, logic and control circuit  14  is implemented on another die, and the input capacitor  16 , inductor  18 , and output capacitor  20  are discrete components. 
       FIG. 2A  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary implementation of a timer block  24 , according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown, timer block  24  includes a one shot circuit  40 , a capacitor  42 , switches  44 ,  45 , current sources  46 ,  48 , and a comparator  50 . 
     As shown, in one implementation, the timing function for turning off the synchronous rectifier (i.e., low-side switch  34 ) can be accomplished by charging and discharging capacitor  42 , which functions as a timing capacitor for timer block  24 . When the PWM signal is high, switch  44  is closed, and capacitor  42  is charged with a current proportional to VIN−VOUT. When the PWM signal is low, switch  44  is open, and capacitor  42  discharges with a current proportional to VOUT. Capacitor  42  may be connected at a ramp node to the current sources  46 ,  48 . In this implementation, current source  46  provides a switched charging current (with a magnitude of K*VIN), and current source  48  provides a constant discharging current (with a magnitude of K*VOUT) for discharging capacitor  42 . Thus, when switch  44  is closed, capacitor  42  is charged with the difference in current between the two current sources  46  and  48  (or K*VIN−K*VOUT or K*(VIN−VOUT)); and when switch  44  is open, capacitor  42  discharges with current source  48  only (or K*VOUT). Switch  44  is controlled by the modulator block  22 , and is closed when PWM signal is high, which produces a waveform on capacitor  42  that has the same timing and magnitude as the inductor current. 
     For consistent timing, cycle to cycle, of the waveform of capacitor  42 , switch  45  resets the voltage on capacitor  42  to VREF at the start of each PWM period. The reset timing for switch  45  is determined by one shot circuit  40 , which produces a short duration switch control signal (RST) which momentarily closes switch  45 . In addition to resetting the capacitor  42 , the width and duration of the RST signal can affect the timing of the turnoff of the synchronous rectifier (low-side switch  34 ), ensuring, for example that switch  34  will turn off slightly before the inductor current returns to the current that was flowing before switch  34  turned on. This will affect the dead-time of power converter system  10  when the current through inductor  18  is positive at the end of the PWM cycle. For example, in one embodiment, a long duration for the RST signal will result in an increase in the dead-time. A short duration for the RST signal will result in an decrease in the dead-time. Eliminating or reducing the deadtime can be accomplished in a variety of ways, including adding hysteresis to comparator  50 , adding an offsetting one-shot pulse after comparator  50  goes high to increase its time by a similar amount of time as the RST pulse, or increasing the “K” multiplier of current source  46  with respect to the “K” multiplier of current source  48 . 
     Comparator  50  compares the voltage at the ramp node (which is the voltage on the capacitor  42 ) against a reference voltage (VREF). When the voltage at the ramp node is below VREF, the comparator  50  outputs a signal to turn off the synchronous rectifier (low-side switch  34 ). 
       FIG. 2B  is a schematic diagram of another exemplary implementation of a timer block  24 , according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown, timer block  24  includes a one shot circuit  40 , a capacitor  42 , a resistor  54 , and a comparator  52 . In this embodiment, the timing capacitor  42  of the timer block  24  is charged from the SW node through resistor  54 , instead of by reference voltage VREF. The timing capacitor  42  is set to VOUT during reset. 
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary state diagram  60  for time-based synchronous rectification, according to an embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment, the state diagram  60  can be implemented in power converter system  10 . As shown, the state diagram  60  has three states: first state  62 , second state  64 , and third state  66 . 
     In the first state  62 , high-side switch  32  (Q 1 ) is turned on, the current in inductor  18  is increasing, and low-side switch  34  (the synchronous rectifier or Q 2 ) is turned off. In this state, capacitor  42  (connected at the ramp node in timer block  24 ) is charging up. This can be accomplished with current source  46 . Capacitor  42  charges up while the PWM signal is high, which turns on the high-side switch  32 . From the first state  62 , power converter system  10  can move to second state  64 . This occurs when the PWM signal goes low, thus turning off the high-side switch  32  and turning on the low-side switch  34 . 
     In the second state  64 , high-side switch  32  (Q 1 ) is turned off, and low-side switch  34  (the synchronous rectifier or Q 2 ) is turned on. In this state, capacitor  42  (connected at the ramp node in timer block  24 ) is discharging. This can be accomplished with current source  48 . From the second state  64 , can move either to the first state (when the PWM signal goes high) or to the third state  66  (when the voltage at the ramp node equals the reference voltage (VREF). In other words, power converter system  10  remains in the second state  64  until either the high-side switch  32  is turned on or the timer of timer block  24  expires or times out. Since the capacitor  42  was charged with a slope proportional to the upslope of the inductor current during the first state  62 , and discharged with a slope proportional to the downslope of the inductor current during the second state  64 , then if the transition out of the second state  64  occurs due to the timer expiring, the current through inductor  18  of power converter system  10  will have returned to its starting value—i.e., the current should have a magnitude approximately equal to what it was at the time that power converter system  10  entered the first state  62 . 
     In the third state  66 , both the low-side switch  34  (the synchronous rectifier or Q 2 ) and the high-side switch  32  (Q 1 ) are turned off. From the third state  66 , power converter system  10  can move to the first state  62  when the PWM signal goes high, thus turning on the high-side switch  32 . 
     The operation of power converter system  10  with time-based synchronous rectification can be further understood with reference to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , which are exemplary waveform diagrams  100  and  200  for the system  10 , according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4A , waveform diagram  100  has waveforms  102 ,  104 ,  106 ,  108 ,  110 ,  112 , and  114  which generally represent, respectively, the current flowing in inductor  18 , the voltage of capacitor  42  at the RAMP node (compared against reference voltage (VREF)), the RST signal (from one shot circuit  40 ), the PWM signal output from modulator block  22 , the turn-off of the low-side switch  34  (synchronous rectifier Q 2 ), the turn-on of the high-side switch  32  (Q 1 ), and the turn-on of the low-side switch (Q 2 ). 
       FIG. 4A  illustrates the case in which the synchronous rectifier (low-side switch  34  or Q 2 ) is turned off (waveform  110 ) due to the timer of timer block  24  expiring. Here, the RAMP time-out (which occurs when the voltage of the capacitor has discharged to the magnitude of VREF) causes the synchronous rectifier to turn off and also causes the RST signal to go high, which holds the RAMP voltage at VREF by closing switch  45 . The PWM pulse (waveform  108 ) output from modulator block  22  goes high some time after the RAMP signal returns to VREF (waveform  104 ). This would be the case when the power converter system  10  is lightly loaded, and the modulator block  22  is required to provide a lower duty cycle (shorter ON times for high-side switch  32 ). 
     Referring to  FIG. 4B , waveform diagram  200  has waveforms  202 ,  204 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 , and  214  which generally represent, respectively, the current flowing through inductor  18 , the voltage of capacitor  42  at the RAMP node (compared against the reference voltage (VREF)), the PWM signal output from modulator block  22 , the RST signal (from one shot circuit  40 ), the turn-off of the low-side switch  34  (synchronous rectifier or Q 2 ), the turn-on of the high-side switch  32  (Q 1 ), and the turn-on of the low-side switch (Q 2 ). 
       FIG. 4B  illustrates the case in which the synchronous rectifier (low-side switch  34 ) is turned off (waveform  210 ) due to the turn on of the high-side switch  32  (waveform  212 ) and before the expiration of the timer of timer block  24 . Here, the PWM pulse (waveform  206 ) output from modulator block  22  arrives before the RAMP signal returns to VREF (waveform  204 ). This causes the high-side switch  32  (Q 1 ) to turn on (waveform  212 ), and the low-side switch  34  (Q 2 ) to turn off (waveforms  210  and  214 ). 
     Thus, predictive timing for the control of the synchronous rectifier may allow for almost no extra dead-time during steady-state operation of power converter system  10  and only small increases in dead-time during transients. 
     As discussed herein, in one embodiment, the present invention turns off the low-side switch or synchronous rectifier in switching voltage converter based on a predictive timing circuit. The timing circuit eliminates the need to sense the inductor current, or the voltage across the low-side switch to determine when to turn off the synchronous rectifier. 
     In one implementation, this is accomplished by charging a capacitor with a current proportional to the input voltage minus the output voltage (VIN−VOUT) and discharging the same capacitor with a current proportional to VOUT. The low-side switch is turned off when the capacitor voltage during discharge crosses the voltage reference at which that the capacitor started during charge. A short reset (RST) pulse ensures both that the ramp will not start charging for a fixed period of time, and that the capacitor&#39;s starting voltage will be a known DC voltage reference (VREF). The RST pulse has the effect of producing a pre-bias which ensures that the synchronous rectifier will turn off during the cycle while a small positive current is flowing in the inductor. Increasing the width of RST pulse can result in a corresponding increase in the amount of current conducted by the body diode when the inductor current is positive at the end of the PWM cycle. The inaccuracy of the turn-off point due to the dead-time can be eliminated by various techniques including changing the relative strength of the charge and discharge currents, or adding positive offset to VREF during the time when the synchronous rectifier is on. 
     Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. That is, the discussion included in this application is intended to serve as a basic description. It should be understood that the specific discussion may not explicitly describe all embodiments possible; many alternatives are implicit. It also may not fully explain the generic nature of the invention and may not explicitly show how each feature or element can actually be representative of a broader function or of a great variety of alternative or equivalent elements. Again, these are implicitly included in this disclosure. Where the invention is described in device-oriented terminology, each element of the device implicitly performs a function. Neither the description nor the terminology is intended to limit the scope of the claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8