Digital LDO with analog-assisted dynamic reference correction for fast and accurate load regulation

Low-dropout voltage regulators (LDOs) have been extensively used on-chip to supply voltage for various circuit blocks. Digital LDOs (DLDO) have recently attracted circuit designers for their low voltage operating capability and load current scalability. Existing DLDO techniques suffer from either poor transient performance due to slow digital control loop or poor DC load regulation due to low loop gain. A dual-loop architecture to improve the DC load regulation and transient performance is proposed in this work. The proposed regulator uses a fast control loop for improved transient response and an analog assisted dynamic reference correction loop for an improved DC load regulation. The design achieved a DC load regulation of 0.005mV/mA and a settling time of 139ns while regulating loads up to 200mA. The proposed DLDO is designed in 28nm FD-SOI technology with a 0.027mm2 active area.

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