Patent ID: 8098089

Claim:
A voltage booster for generating a boosted voltage, including: a charge pump adapted to generate the boosted voltage starting from a supply voltage by a transfer of electric charge controlled by a plurality of oscillating signals having an oscillation frequency; an oscillator for providing the plurality of oscillating signals; and a regulation circuit arranged to receive a voltage related to the boosted voltage and to perform comparisons of the related voltage and a reference voltage, and adapted to provide at least one regulation signal indicative of a result of said comparison, wherein said regulation signal is fed to the oscillator to control said oscillation frequency, and wherein said regulation circuit is adapted responsive to said comparisons to cause the at least one regulation signal to have a current value that is a sum of a plurality of discrete non-zero current values so that each oscillation frequency of the plurality of oscillating signals accordingly takes on one among a plurality of discrete oscillation frequency values.