Patent ID: 10720838

Abstract:
Embodiments provide forced-burst voltage regulation for burst mode direct-current-to-direct-current (DC-DC) converters in integrated circuits. The DC-DC converter generates an output voltage and operates in a burst mode to raise the output voltage to a threshold voltage. A controller is coupled to the DC-DC converter. In operation, the DC-DC converter is configured to perform the burst mode based upon a low-voltage detection for the output voltage. The DC-DC converter is further configured to perform the burst mode when a force-burst command is asserted by the controller to the DC-DC converter regardless of a state for the low-voltage detection. For one embodiment, the force-burst command is asserted as a burst control signal from the controller to the DC-DC converter to generate a long quiet period for sensitive actions. For another embodiment, the force-burst command is asserted using enable and refresh control signals to facilitate low-power operation.