Patent ID: 7317347

Claim:
A two-phase charge pump capable of being controlled by a first clock signal having a first phase and a second clock signal having a second phase, the first and second clock signals being out-of-phase and taking alternatively a first value and a second value during consecutive phases, the charge pump comprising: a sequence of cascade-connected stages that each have a first section and a second section, each of the first and second sections including: an input terminal and an output terminal, the input terminal of each of the stages other than the first stage of the sequence being cross-coupled with the output terminal of a preceding stage; a capacitive element having a first terminal and a second terminal, the second terminal being coupled with the output terminal of the section, the first terminal in each of the first sections receiving the first clock signal, the first terminal in each of the second sections receiving the second clock signal; and a controlled switch coupling the input terminal of the section with the output terminal of the section, the controlled switch having a control terminal, wherein in each of the stages, the control terminal of the controlled switch of the first section is directly connected to the control terminal of the controlled switch of the second section, each of the first sections further includes a first control circuit coupling the control terminal with the output terminal of the first section during the first phase, and each of the second sections further includes a second control circuit coupling the control terminal with the input terminal of the second section during the second phase.