| 摘要 |
An N-FET high-sideswitch (210) has improved performance (e.g., less leakage current, lower ON resistance, and smaller area) over a conventional P-FET high-sideswitch. The N-FET high-sideswitch (210) includes at least one N-FET device (212) and couples between a power supply (VDD) and a load circuit (220), which may be, e.g., a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, or a memory unit. The high-sideswitch (210) couples the power supply (VDD) to the load circuit (220) when the high-sideswitch (210) is enabled and cuts off the power supply (VDD) from the load circuit (220) when disabled. A charge pump (230) couples to the high-sideswitch (210) and provides a control signal (Vhs). This control signal (Vhs) is sufficiently high when the high-sideswitch (210) is enabled to ensure that the N-FET device (212) operates in a linear region and has a small drain to source voltage drop. The high-sideswitch (210) may be operated as a power switch or in a feedback configuration to implement a linear or a digital voltage regulator.
|
