IP Library Granted Patent US 11,328,779
Granted Patent B2
US 11,328,779 · App. 17/097,447 · Granted May 10, 2022

Capacitive voltage modifier for power management

Inventors: Matthew D. Rowley (Boise, ID); Dustin J. Carter (Placerville, CA)
Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
G11C16/30G01R19/16552G05F1/462G06F1/263G06F1/28G11C5/145G11C5/147G11C16/10H02M3/1582
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,328,779
App. No.
17/097,447
Granted
May 10, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

A memory sub-system includes a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) compatible with operation at an uppermost PMIC supply voltage that is lower than a primary supply voltage of the memory sub-system. The PMIC is configured to output multiple voltages for operation of the memory sub-system based on a PMIC supply voltage. The memory sub-system further includes a capacitive voltage modifier (CVM) coupled to the PMIC. The CVM is configured to receive the primary supply voltage of the memory sub-system as an input and provide a first modified primary supply voltage (MPSV) to the PMIC as the PMIC supply voltage, where the first MPSV is not higher than the uppermost PMIC supply voltage.

Claims (43)

1. A memory sub-system, comprising:

a capacitive voltage modifier (CVM) coupled to a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), the CVM configured to:

receive a primary supply voltage from a primary power supply (PPS);

monitor a voltage magnitude of the primary supply voltage to determine whether to modify the primary supply voltage; and

modify, based on a value of the monitored voltage magnitude of the primary supply voltage, the primary supply voltage to generate a first modified primary supply voltage (MPSV); and provide the first MPSV to the PMIC as a PMIC supply voltage.

2. The memory sub-system of claim 1 , wherein the CVM is further configured to:

determine a quantity of a number of capacitors to be used for modifying the primary supply voltage; and

modify the primary supply voltage based on the determined quantity of the number of capacitors.

3. The memory sub-system of claim 1 , wherein the CVM is configured to reduce, responsive to the primary supply voltage being higher than an uppermost PMIC supply voltage at which the PMIC is compatible with operation, the primary supply voltage to generate the first MPSV that is not higher than the uppermost PMIC supply voltage.

4. The memory sub-system of claim 1 , wherein the CVM is configured to increase, responsive to the primary supply voltage being lower than a voltage threshold compatible with operation of the PMIC, by accessing a backup power component (BPC) coupled to the CVM to receive a backup voltage from the BPC.

5. The memory sub-system of claim 1 , wherein the CVM is configured to:

increase, responsive to the primary supply voltage having a magnitude lower than a threshold that is compatible with charging a backup power component (BPC), the primary supply voltage to generate a second MPSV that is not lower than the threshold; and

provide, to charge the BPC, the second MPSV to the BPC.

6. The memory sub-system of claim 1 , wherein the CVM is further configured to:

receive multiple primary supply voltages; and

selectively modify each one of the multiple primary supply voltages to provide a PMIC supply voltage compatible with operation of the PMIC.

7. A system, comprising:

a plurality of memory sub-system components comprising a power management integrated circuit (PMIC); and

a capacitive voltage modifier (CVM) configured to modify, in response to receipt of a primary supply voltage, the primary supply voltage to generate a first modified primary supply voltage (MPSV) and a second MPSV, wherein the first MPSV and the second MPSV each have different voltage magnitudes; and

provide the first MPSV and the second MPSV to the PMIC as a PMIC supply voltage.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the CVM is further configured to provide the first MPSV and the second MPSV to different components of the plurality of memory sub-system components, respectively.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the CVM is configured to:

decrease, responsive to an uppermost PMIC supply voltage being lower than the primary supply voltage, the primary supply voltage to generate the first MPSV that is lower than the uppermost PMIC supply voltage; and

provide the first MPSV to the PMIC.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein:

the plurality of memory sub-system components comprises a backup power component (BPC); and

the CVM is configured to:

access, responsive to the primary supply voltage received being lower than a range of voltages compatible with operation of a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), to the BPC; and

receive, responsive to the access to the BPC, a backup voltage from the BPC to generate the first MPSV based at least partially on the backup voltage.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the CVM is configured to:

increase, responsive to the primary supply voltage having a magnitude lower than a threshold that is compatible with charging a backup power component (BPC), the primary supply voltage to generate the second MPSV that is not lower than the threshold; and

provide, to charge the BPC, the second MPSV to the BPC.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the CVM is further configured to generate the first MPSV or the second MPSV using parallel-coupled capacitors.

13. The system of claim 7 , wherein the CVM is configured to operate as a capacitive voltage divider (CVD).

14. A system, comprising:

a capacitive voltage modifier (CVM) coupled to a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), the CVM configured to:

monitor a voltage magnitude of a primary supply voltage received from a primary power supply (PPS); and

access, responsive to the primary supply voltage being lower than a range of voltages compatible with operation of the PMIC, a backup power component (BPC) coupled to the CVM to receive a backup voltage from the BPC;

wherein the CVM is configured to operate as a capacitive voltage amplifier (CVA) to amplify the primary supply voltage.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the BPC further comprises at least one of an electrochemical energy storage device or a capacitive storage component (CSC).

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the CVM is configured to receive the primary supply voltage via a host interface.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the host interface include a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) interface, a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) interface, universal serial bus (USB) interface, Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), or combinations thereof.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the CVM is configured to store a number of configuration profiles that is dynamically selectable based on a comparison of a threshold voltage of a particular component of the PMIC and the voltage magnitude of the primary supply voltage.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 13, 2020
From: ROWLEY, MATTHEW D.; CARTER, DUSTIN J.
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 054361/0097 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 16684924 · Nov 15, 2019
Continuation 16119715 · Aug 31, 2018
Related Publication 20210065822A1 · Mar 4, 2021