System and method to soft-start synchronous buck converters
Granted: February 24, 2015
Patent Number:
8963520
A system includes a feedback module that communicates with a capacitor connected across an output of a power converter and that generates a feedback voltage indicating a pre-bias voltage across the capacitor before power is supplied to the power converter. A comparator compares the feedback voltage to a reference voltage and determines whether the pre-bias voltage across the capacitor is greater or less than a desired output voltage of the power converter when power is supplied to the…
Direct conversion receiver for angle modulated signals
Granted: February 17, 2015
Patent Number:
8958769
A direct conversion receiver including an input stage, a frequency modulated local oscillator, a mixer stage, an output stage, and a DC blocker stage coupled between the mixer stage and the output stage. The input stage is receptive to a frequency modulated transmission having a carrier frequency fc and the frequency modulated local oscillator provides a frequency modulated local oscillator signal. In an embodiment, the frequency modulated local oscillator includes a local oscillator…
Low-noise, high-gain semiconductor device incorporating BCD (Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) technology and process of making the same
Granted: February 10, 2015
Patent Number:
8951856
Techniques are described to form a low-noise, high-gain semiconductor device. In one or more implementations, the device includes a substrate including a first dopant material having a concentration ranging from about 1×1010/cm3 to about 1×1019/cm3. The substrate also includes at least two active regions formed proximate to a surface of the substrate. The at least two active regions include a second dopant material, which is different than the first dopant material. The device further…
I/R receiver with duty cycle synchronized power reduction
Granted: February 3, 2015
Patent Number:
8948611
A circuit and method for reducing power consumption in an I/R receiver system includes determining a duty cycle of a command cycle comprising a series of command pulses separated by nulls and enabling and disabling selective active components of an I/R receiver system in accordance with the duty cycle. In an embodiment, the enabling of the active components commences during a null prior to the arrival of a new command pulse. In a further example embodiment, the enabling includes first…
Integrated MOS power transistor with thin gate oxide and low gate charge
Granted: February 3, 2015
Patent Number:
8946851
A split gate power transistor includes a laterally configured power MOSFET including a doped silicon substrate having a first doped region and a second doped region of an opposite type as the first doped region, a gate oxide layer formed on a surface of the substrate, and a split polysilicon layer formed over the gate oxide layer. The polysilicon layer is cut into two electrically isolated portions, a first portion forming a polysilicon gate positioned over a channel region and a…
Methods of forming coaxial feedthroughs for 3D integrated circuits
Granted: January 27, 2015
Patent Number:
8940631
Methods of forming coaxial feedthroughs for 3d integrated circuits that provide excellent isolation of signal paths from the substrate and from adjacent feedthroughs. One method is to form a recess in a substrate and deposit alternate layers of insulation and conductive layers and then thin the substrate to make the layers available from both sides of the substrate, with the first metal layer forming the coaxial conductor and the second metal layer forming the central conductor.…
Adaptive dead-time control
Granted: January 13, 2015
Patent Number:
8933679
A DC-to-DC converter includes first and second transistors that are connected in series between a supply voltage and ground and that are driven by PWM pulses. A junction of the transistors is connected to an inductance that is connected in series to a load. A first timing module determines a first time difference between a first edge of a first signal at the junction and a first edge of a second signal at a control terminal of the first transistor. A second timing module determines a…
Full-duplex single-ended serial link communication system
Granted: December 30, 2014
Patent Number:
8923170
A system for full duplex communication using a single-ended communications link is described. The system includes a first link interface configured to generate a signal for transmission via the single-ended communications link. The signal includes data encoded in a forward channel. The system also includes a second link interface configured to receive the signal from the first link interface via the single-ended communications link and modulate the signal to encode data in a reverse…
Semiconductor device having mode of operation defined by inner bump assembly connection
Granted: December 30, 2014
Patent Number:
8921158
Semiconductor devices are described that are configured to have a state of operation defined by a connection between at least one inner bump assembly and a selected outer bump assembly. In an implementation, the semiconductor device, which may be a wafer-level (chip-scale) package semiconductor device, includes an integrated circuit chip, a plurality of outer bump assemblies disposed on the chip, and one or more inner bump assemblies disposed on the chip so that the inner bump assemblies…
Method and apparatus for active ripple cancelation
Granted: December 23, 2014
Patent Number:
8917032
Various embodiments of the invention allow for active AC ripple noise cancellation. In certain embodiments, noise cancellation is accomplished by modulating an LED driver output in a polarity opposite to the ripple, thereby, preventing interference with ripple-sensitive loads. Certain embodiments take advantage of a filter network to prevent the LED driver from modulating LED current in response to ripple that falls within a visible frequency range so as to prevent flicker in an LED…
Digital input for a programmable logic controller
Granted: December 16, 2014
Patent Number:
8912935
A digital input includes a galvanically isolated section having an integrating capacitor coupled to a high voltage signal input by at least one current-limiting resistor, a relaxation oscillator coupled across the integrating capacitor, and an electronic switch controlled by the relaxation oscillator. An optical isolator has an input side and an output side, wherein the input side is coupled across the integrating capacitor by the switch, and a low voltage section includes a decoder…
Electro-mechanical resonance loop
Granted: December 16, 2014
Patent Number:
8912856
The invention relates to a controller, and more particularly, to systems, devices and methods of controlling a sensor having a resonating mass. The controller includes: an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) unit for extracting a digitized sensor signal from the sensor signal; a phase controller for generating, based on the digitized sensor signal, a phase-controlled signal that is locked in phase with the digitized sensor signal; an amplitude controller for applying a gain to the…
Passive offset and overshoot cancellation for sampled data circuits
Granted: December 16, 2014
Patent Number:
8912838
A zero-crossing detector with effective offset cancellation includes a set of series connected capacitors and an amplifier having an input terminal. An offset capacitor is operatively connected between the amplifier and the set of series connected capacitors. A switch is operatively connected to the input terminal, and an offset sampling capacitor is operatively connected to the switch. The switch connects the offset sampling capacitor to the input terminal of the amplifier during a…
Current sensing for LED drivers
Granted: December 16, 2014
Patent Number:
8912732
Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for determining a magnitude of current driving LEDs by sensing a current through a switching transistor and extracting the information of the LED current based on a relationship between the current through the switching transistor and the current driving the LEDs.
High-resolution digital to analog converter
Granted: December 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8907831
A system includes an N-bit digital-to-analog converter and an M-bit sub-digital-to-analog converter. The N-bit digital-to-analog converter includes 2N resistances connected in series across first and second reference voltages and converts N most significant bits of B bits of data. The M-bit sub-digital-to-analog converter converts M least significant bits of the B bits of data. The M-bit sub-digital-to-analog converter includes a first converter that converts a voltage across one of the…
Self-adjusted LED illumination system
Granted: December 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8907590
Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a LED illumination system, and more particularly, to systems, devices and methods of employing a LED driver control loop to adjust the brightness of the LED light smoothly and suppress flickering/blinking. The LED driver control loop comprises a LED driver, a charge integrator, a VPWR modulator, and a driver controller. The charge integrator generates a voltage VC that is associated with a LED current iLED and illumination energy for…
Device having an optical element and an ambient light sensor integrated on a single substrate and a process for making same
Granted: December 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8906720
A device having one or more optical elements and an ambient light sensor integrated on a single substrate (e.g., wafer) and a method (e.g., process) for making same is described herein. The process includes the step of forming the ambient light sensor on a first surface of the substrate. The process further includes the step of forming a plurality of recesses in a second surface of the substrate, the second surface being located opposite the first surface. The process further includes…
Microgyroscope for determining rotational motions about at least one of three perpendicular spatial axes
Granted: December 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8904866
A microgyroscope is used to determine rotational motions about at least one of three perpendicular spatial axes x, y, and z. The microgyroscope has a substrate (1) on which multiple masses (2x, 2y, 9) which oscillate parallel to the plane of the substrate (1) in an x-y plane are situated. Some of the oscillating masses (2x, 2y) are attached to the substrate (1) by means of springs and anchorings. Drive elements (4a, 4b) are used to maintain oscillating vibrations of the masses (2x, 2y,…
DC to DC converter control systems and methods
Granted: December 2, 2014
Patent Number:
8901899
An error determination module determines a voltage error based on an output voltage of a DC to DC converter, an estimated output voltage of the DC to DC converter, and a product of a predetermined delay value and a difference between a duty cycle and a target voltage. A capacitor current determination module determines a capacitor current based on the voltage error. A capacitor voltage determination module determines a capacitor voltage based on the voltage error. A duty cycle module…
High speed digital to analog converter with reduced spurious outputs
Granted: December 2, 2014
Patent Number:
8903092
A system includes a first circuit including a scrambling module that receives N digital data streams and that scrambles the N digital data streams using a scrambling sequence. A data bus receives the N scrambled digital data streams and the scrambling sequence. A second circuit communicates with the data bus and includes a first processing module that processes the N scrambled digital data streams and that outputs M digital data streams, where M and N are integers greater than one. The…
