Apple patents circuit trick to boost chip power stability
Apple describes a method to make a small capacitor on a chip act like a much larger one. It uses adjustable resistors and a transistor to multiply the effective capacitance without wasting power or causing voltage drops.
In the filing’s own words
An integrated circuit may include one or more circuits coupled to capacitance multiplier circuitry. The capacitance multiplier circuitry may include a capacitor, fixed and tunable resistances, and a transconductance circuit. The tunable resistance can be adjusted to control the overall capacitance of the capacitance multiplier circuitry. The transconductance circuit may include a transistor having a drain terminal coupled to a first electrical component and a source terminal coupled to a second electrical component. The first electrical component may be a diode-connected transistor, a direct shorting wire, a resistor, an inductor, or a current source. The second electrical component may be a current source, a direct shorting wire, a resistor, an inductor, or another diode-connected device. Configured in this way, the capacitance multiplier circuitry can provide a large adjustable amount of capacitance without a voltage drop and without consuming a large amount of power.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An integrated circuit comprising: a circuit coupled to a positive power supply line; and capacitance multiplier circuitry configured to provide a decoupling capacitance for the circuit, the capacitance multiplier circuitry including a capacitor coupled to the positive power supply line and having a capacitance, the decoupling capacitance of the capacitance multiplier circuitry being more than two times the capacitance of the capacitor, a resistive chain coupled to the positive power supply line, and an adjustable resistor coupled between the capacitor and a node along the resistive chain.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Capacitance multiplier for decoupling capacitor
- Patent number
- US12771328B2
- Application number
- 18466708
- Filed
- Sep 13, 2023
- Granted
- Oct 20, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H03H 11/483 Electricity & electronicsH03F 1/56 Electricity & electronicsH03H 11/405 Electricity & electronicsMore from Apple in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.