Patents Examined by Patrick C Chen
  • Patent number: 11699992
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a flip flop cell. The flip flop cell is formed on a semiconductor substrate, includes a flip flop circuit, and comprises a scan mux circuit, a master latch circuit, a slave latch circuit, a clock driver circuit, and an output circuit. Each of the scan mux circuit, the master latch circuit, the slave latch circuit, the clock driver circuit, and the output circuit includes a plurality of active devices which together output a resulting signal for that circuit based on inputs, is a sub-circuit of the flip flop circuit, and occupies a continuously-bounded area of the flip flop circuit from a plan view. At least a first sub-circuit and a second sub-circuit of the sub-circuits overlap from the plan view in a first overlap region, the first overlap region including part of a first continuously-bounded area for the first sub-circuit and part of a second continuously-bounded area for the second sub-circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jintae Kim, Byounggon Kang, Changbeom Kim, Ha-Young Kim, Yongeun Cho
  • Patent number: 11695422
    Abstract: A delay locked loop circuit includes a first delay locked loop and a second delay locked loop having different characteristics. The first delay locked loop performs a delay-locking operation on a reference clock signal to generate a delay locked clock signal. The second delay locked loop performs a delay-locking operation on the delay locked clock signal to generate an internal clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2023
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventors: Yun Tack Han, Kyeong Min Kim
  • Patent number: 11687108
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods relating generally to reduction of allocation of external power and/or ground pins of a microelectronic device are disclosed. In one such apparatus, an external power input pin is configured for receiving an input supply-side power having an external supply voltage level higher than an internal supply voltage level and an external supply current level lower than an internal supply current level. An internal power plane circuit coupled to the external power input pin is configured to step-down a voltage from the external supply voltage level to the internal supply voltage level and to step-up a current from the external supply current level to the internal supply current level to provide an internal power source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: XILINX, INC.
    Inventor: Stephen M. Trimberger
  • Patent number: 11683065
    Abstract: A radio frequency (RF) switch includes switch transistors coupled in series. The RF switch includes a distributed gate bias network coupled to gate electrodes of the switch transistors. The RF switch also includes a distributed body bias network coupled to body electrodes of the switch transistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Ravi Pramod Kumar Vedula, George Pete Imthurn, Anton Arriagada, Sinan Goktepeli
  • Patent number: 11664800
    Abstract: A circuit for implementing an input/output connection in an integrated circuit device is described. The circuit comprises a pull-up circuit comprising a first plurality of transistors coupled in series, wherein a gate of a first transistor of the first plurality of transistors is configured to receive a first dynamic bias signal; a pull-down circuit comprising a second plurality of transistors coupled in series, the pull-down circuit being coupled to the pull-up circuit at an output node, wherein a gate of a first transistor of the second plurality of transistors is configured to receive a second dynamic bias signal; and an input/output contact coupled to the output node. A circuit for implementing an input/output connection in an integrated circuit device including a splitter circuit for receiving an input signal on an input pad is also described. A method of implementing an input/output connection in an integrated circuit device is also described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2023
    Assignee: XILINX, INC.
    Inventors: VSS Prasad Babu Akurathi, Sabarathnam Ekambaram, Sasi Rama S. Lanka, Hari Bilash Dubey, Milind Goel
  • Patent number: 11658653
    Abstract: A gate resistance adjustment device has a waveform input unit that inputs waveforms of a drain voltage or a collector voltage and a drain current or a collector current at least one of during which a switching device is turned on and during which the switching device is turned off, an extraction unit that extracts time required for at least one of turning on or off the switching device and a steady-state drain current or a steady-state collector current of the switching device based on the waveforms input by the waveform input unit, a calculator that calculates a gate resistance of the switching device based on the time and the steady-state drain current or the steady-state collector current that are extracted by the extraction unit, and a setting unit that sets a gate resistance calculated by the calculator in the switching device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA
    Inventors: Kazuto Takao, Yusuke Hayashi
  • Patent number: 11641199
    Abstract: A slew rate adjusting circuit includes an adjustment transistor configured to provide an adjustment current into an output port of an arithmetic amplifier, a first transistor connected between a power line of the arithmetic amplifier and the adjustment transistor, and a second transistor connected between the first transistor and an output node of the output port, wherein the adjustment transistor is turned on by the second transistor in response to a difference between an input voltage and an output voltage being equal to or greater than a reference voltage, and the adjustment current is provided to the output port in response to the adjustment transistor being turned on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: MagnaChip Semiconductor, Ltd.
    Inventors: Jung Hoon Sul, Dong Il Seo
  • Patent number: 11641203
    Abstract: A regenerative gate charging circuit includes an inductor coupled to a gate of a FET. An output control circuit is coupled to a timing control circuit and a bridged inductor driver, which is coupled to the inductor. A sense circuit is coupled to the gate and to the timing control circuit, which receives a control signal, generates output control signals in accordance with a first timing profile, and transmits the output control signals to the output control circuit. In accordance with the first timing profile, the output control circuit holds switches or controllable current sources of the bridged inductor driver in an ON state for a first period and holds the switches or controllable current sources in an OFF state for a second period. Gate voltages are sampled during the second period and after the first period. The timing control circuit generates a second timing profile using the sampled voltages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: Silanna Asia Pte Ltd
    Inventors: Cameron Brown, Yashodhan Vijay Moghe
  • Patent number: 11637458
    Abstract: The disclosure features wireless energy transfer sources that include at least two source resonators and a power source, where: each of the at least two source resonators has a nominal impedance when a device resonator is not positioned on or near any of the at least two source resonators, the nominal impedances of each of the at least two source resonators varying by 10% or less from one another; and the at least two source resonators are configured so that during operation of the wireless energy transfer source, when a device resonator is positioned on or near a first one of the at least two source resonators: (a) the impedance of the first source resonator is reduced to a value smaller than the nominal impedances of each of the other resonators by a factor of 2 or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: WiTricity Corporation
    Inventors: Alexander P. McCauley, Arunanshu M. Roy, Noam Katz, Andre B. Kurs, Morris P. Kesler
  • Patent number: 11621628
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) in power conversion stage line filter are provided herein. The method, for example, includes determining an estimated ripple voltage or estimated ripple current using a predictive model, generating a ripple cancellation signal of opposite polarity to the estimated ripple voltage or ripple current, while compensating for at least one of magnitude or phase distortions in a signal path, and injecting the ripple cancellation signal into a power supply's line filter to reduce a ripple voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: Enphase Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian Acker, Patrick L. Chapman, Martin Fornage
  • Patent number: 11611341
    Abstract: Sampling circuits and methods for sampling are provided. In a first operating phase, sampling capacitors are coupled to inputs, and in a second operating phase, to a common-mode signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Peter Bogner, Herwig Wappis
  • Patent number: 11601045
    Abstract: In some examples, a circuit includes an amplifier, a resistor, and a damping network. The amplifier has an amplifier output and first and second amplifier inputs. The first amplifier input is adapted to be coupled to a first terminal, and the second amplifier input is configured to receive a reference voltage. The resistor is coupled between the amplifier output and the first amplifier input. The damping network is coupled between the amplifier output and the first terminal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Yongbin Chu, Yogesh Kumar Ramadass
  • Patent number: 11557917
    Abstract: A switched mode power supply comprises a communication interface including an address terminal configured to couple to an external resistor for setting a communication address of the switched mode power supply. A control circuit is configured to determine the value of the external resistor a first time with a first technique and set the communication address of the switched mode power supply based on the value of the external resistor determined using the first technique if the value of the external resistor is greater than the threshold value. The control circuit is also configured to, if the value of the external resistor is less than the threshold value, determine the value of the external resistor a second time with a second technique and set the communication address of the switched mode power supply based on the value of the external resistor determined using the second technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: Astec International Limited
    Inventors: Bing Zhang, Mei Qin, Lian Liang, Wenyong Liu, Zhishuo Li
  • Patent number: 11558058
    Abstract: A delay locked loop circuit includes a first delay locked loop and a second delay locked loop having different characteristics. The first delay locked loop performs a delay-locking operation on a reference clock signal to generate a delay locked clock signal. The second delay locked loop performs a delay-locking operation on the delay locked clock signal to generate an internal clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventors: Yun Tack Han, Kyeong Min Kim
  • Patent number: 11552643
    Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a converter converting an analog signal into a digital signal based on a clock signal; a comparator determining values of data based on the digital signal; a recovery circuit recovering the clock signal based on the digital signal and the data; and a control circuit. The recovery circuit includes a phase detector calculating a sum of a first value and offset, the first value being a value based on the digital signal and the data and relating to a phase of the clock signal; and a loop filter calculating a correction amount of the phase of the clock signal based on the sum. The control circuit is configured to gradually change the offset from a second value to zero after the second value is added as the offset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
    Inventor: Fumihiko Tachibana
  • Patent number: 11545987
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a method includes initializing an input clock rotating register by sending a reset signal synchronized to an input clock signal and initializing an output clock rotating register by sending the reset signal synchronized to an output clock signal. The method further providing a data input synchronized to the output clock to a plurality of mux-flops. The output clock rotating register activates one of the plurality of mux-flops to receive the data input. The method further includes forwarding the data input via the one of the plurality of mux-flops to a multiplexer. The multiplexer has a selection input of the input clock rotating register. The method further includes selecting the data input as the output of the multiplexer to be a data output signal, such that the data output is synchronized with the input clock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte, Ltd.
    Inventors: Nitin Mohan, Vasudevan Kandadi, Thucydides Xanthopoulos
  • Patent number: 11539555
    Abstract: An N-tap feedforward equalizer (FFE) comprises a set of N FFE taps coupled together in parallel, a filter coupled between the (N?1)th FFE tap and the Nth FFE tap, and a summer coupled to an output of the set of N FFE taps. Each FFE tap includes a unique sample-an-hold (S/H) circuit that generates a unique time-delayed signal and a unique transconductance stage that generates a unique transconductance output based on the unique time-delayed signal. The filter causes the N-tap FFE to have the behavior of greater than N taps. In some examples, the filter is a first order high pass filter that causes coefficients greater than N to have an opposite polarity of the Nth coefficient. In some examples, the filter is a first order low pass filter that causes coefficients greater than N to have the same polarity as the Nth coefficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Abishek Manian, Ashwin Kottilvalappil Vijayan, Amit Rane, Ashkan Roshan Zamir
  • Patent number: 11539355
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are provided for a circuit for generating a pulse output having a controllable pulse width. Systems and methods may include a delay line having a plurality of stages. A delay per stage calculation circuit is configured to determine a per-stage delay of the delay line using a first clock input. A pulse generation circuit is configured to generate the pulse output using the delay line based on the per-stage delay using a second clock input, the second clock input having a lower frequency than the first clock input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
    Inventors: Ruey-Bin Sheen, Ming Hsien Tsai, Chih-Hsien Chang, Tsung-Hsien Tsai
  • Patent number: 11539354
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and devices are provided for a circuit for generating a pulse output having a controllable pulse width. Systems and methods may include a delay line having a plurality of stages. A delay per stage calculation circuit is configured to determine a per-stage delay of the delay line using a first clock input. A pulse generation circuit is configured to generate the pulse output using the delay line based on the per-stage delay using a second clock input, the second clock input having a lower frequency than the first clock input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
    Inventors: Ruey-Bin Sheen, Ming Hsien Tsai, Chih-Hsien Chang, Tsung-Hsien Tsai
  • Patent number: 11500403
    Abstract: A system-on-a-chip (SoC) is designed to operate within optimal voltage and frequency ranges. If an SoC is provided power outside of the optimal voltage range, the SoC can be placed in a high-stress state, exposing the chip to a security attack. Embodiments of the present systems and method limit the minimum and maximum voltage supplied to an SoC from a power management integrated circuit (PMIC). Embodiments can also track a number of requests to provide power outside of the optimal range and can signal a warning of repeated attempts to take an SoC outside of the SoC's optimal range, which may be indicative of a malicious attack on the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: NXP USA, INC.
    Inventors: Jean-Philippe Meunier, Maxime Clairet, Alaa Eldin Y El Sherif, Pierre Turpin