Shared Bootstrap Capacitor for Multiple Phase Buck Converter Circuit and Methods

摘要

A multiple phase dc to dc converter with a shared bootstrap capacitor. In an embodiment, a multiple phase buck converter is disclosed including a plurality of n switching stages, each coupled to a corresponding switching node, each further including a high side driver MOS device coupled between a terminal for a positive voltage supply terminal and the corresponding switching node; and an inductor coupled in parallel between the corresponding switching node and an output terminal configured for providing the DC output voltage; and high side driver control circuitry configured to selectively couple a shared bootstrap capacitor to a gate terminal of each of the high side drivers, wherein the shared bootstrap capacitor is configured to charge a gate capacitance of each of the high side driver MOS devices. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

主权项

1. A buck converter for producing a DC output voltage from a DC input voltage, comprising:
a plurality of n switching stages, each coupled to a corresponding switching node, each of the n switching stages further comprising:
a high side MOS switch coupled between an input terminal for a positive input voltage and the corresponding switching node;an inductor corresponding to each of the n switching stages coupled in parallel between the corresponding switching node and an output terminal and configured for providing the DC output voltage; and high side driver circuitry configured to selectively couple a shared bootstrap capacitor to a gate terminal of a respective one of the high side MOS switches within each of the n switching stages, wherein the bootstrap capacitor is configured to charge a gate capacitance of the respective one of the high side MOS switches.