Low Dropout Regulators

Pavan Kumar Hanumolu

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Updated Slides: https://uofi.box.com/CICC15-LDO

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators

Role of a Low Dropout Regulator

Regulation + Isolation
LDO1 VLDO1
VBAT Circuits1
L VDC-DC
LDO2 VLDO2
C Circuits2
Controller VREF

DC-DC Converter LDON VLDON

CircuitsN

 Ripple suppression

 Isolation

 Low noise

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 2

 Conceptual LDO Regulator Implementation
RIN RL
+ +
VIN VOUT RL VIN VOUT RL
- -

 Output voltage generated using a resistive divider

Fixed divide ratio  sensitive to load current changes

 Feedback loop regulates RIN such that it is always a

desired fraction of load current
Output voltage is independent of load current

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 3

Conceptual LDO Regulator Implementation

RIN
+
RF1
VIN VOUT RL CO
RF2
VREF -

 Feedback adjusts RIN such that VOUT = VREF

Ideally independent of VIN

 Output capacitor (CO) used to “filter” ripple/noise

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 4

 LDO Block Diagram
VIN

Start up Ref. Pass

EA
device
VOUT
RF1
RL CO
RF2

 Bandgap circuit provides fixed reference voltage

 Feedback resistors used to level shift output voltage
Output voltage can be varied by changing RF2
 Variable resistor is implemented using “pass device”
Usually NMOS or PMOS

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 5

LDO Block Diagram

VIN

Start up Ref. Pass

EA
device
VOUT
RF1
RL CO
RF2

 Bandgap circuit provides fixed reference voltage

 Feedback resistors used to level shift output voltage
Output voltage can be varied by changing RF2
 Variable resistor is implemented using “pass device”
Usually NMOS or PMOS

 This tutorial: Regulation loop design

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 6
 Tutorial Roadmap
 Performance metrics

 Stability

 Power supply rejection

 Summary

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 7

Performance Metrics

 Load regulation
 Line regulation
 Static/dynamic
PSR

Regulation Efficiency

LDO
Quiescent current Noise

Dropout voltage

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 8

 Dropout Voltage

VOUT
IIN RON IOUT Dropout
IN OUT
CO
+
VIN LDO VOUT RL Regulation
ESR
- Off

Vdropout VIN

 VIN-VOUT at which VOUT is no longer regulated

 Dropout voltage depends on pass device/load current

 Dropout voltage is in the range of 0.1 to 0.5V

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 9

Quiescent Current

IIN RON IOUT

IN OUT
CO
+
VIN LDO VOUT RL
IQ ESR
-

 IQ is mainly due to bias currents in:

Reference generator
Error amplifier
Feedback resistors
Support circuits

 IQ is almost independent of load current

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 10

 Efficiency

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 11

Efficiency

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 12

 Line Regulation
 Measure of LDO’s ability to maintain desired VOUT with
varying VIN (static metric)

VOUT

VDesired Ideal LDO

VIN

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 13

Load Regulation
 Measure of LDO’s ability to maintain desired VOUT with
varying IOUT

VOUT
Ideal LDO
VDesired
Practical
LDO

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 14

 Line Transient Response
 Measure of LDO’s ability to maintain desired VOUT with
varying VIN (dynamic metric)

IIN RON IOUT

IN OUT
CO
+
VIN LDO VOUT RL
ESR
-

VIN VIN

VOUT VOUT
t

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 15

Load Transient Response

 Measure of LDO’s ability to maintain desired VOUT with
varying IOUT (dynamic metric)

IIN RON IOUT

IN OUT
CO
+
VIN LDO VOUT ILOAD
ESR
-

ILOAD LOAD

VLR1
VOUT
VLR2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 16

 Power Supply Rejection
 Regulator’s ability to reject VOUT variations due to
changes in VIN
vIN vOUT

t t

 Similar to line regulation BUT measured vs. frequency

 Similar to line transient BUT measured for “small

signal” variations

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 17

Accuracy
 Includes all non-ideal effects:

1. Line/load regulation
2. Reference voltage drift
3. Error amplifier offset drift
4. Feedback resistor tolerance

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 18

 LDO Types
Pass device: PMOS or NMOS
VIN VIN

VREF VREF
EA EA
VOUT VOUT
RF1 RF1

RF2 RF2

Cap or Cap-less LDOs

IN OUT IN OUT
LDO CO LDO
VIN RL VIN RL
GND ESR GND

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 19

PMOS LDO w/ Output Capacitor[1]

VIN

VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1 CO
RL
RF2 ESR

 PMOS pass device

Dropout voltage is approximately VDSAT (0.1-0.4V)

 Output capacitor CO placed off chip

Comes with ESR

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 20

 Output Voltage Calculation
VIN
VREF VIN
-
VREF v1 gmpv1 rdsp
EA HEA(s) +
VOUT VOUT
RF1
RF1 CO CO
RL RF2 RL
ESR
RF2 ESR

 Use KCL/KVL to calculate transfer functions

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 21

Signal Flow Representation

Pass device

+ 1/rdsp
Load
VIN (RF1+RF2) ZL VOUT

+ gmp
Feedback
RF2
HEA(s) +
RF2+RF2
EA
VREF

 Use Mason’s gain rule to find transfer functions

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 22

 Mason’s Gain Rule

M j j
H
j

H  transfer function of the system

j  index number of a forward path from input to output
Mj  gain of forward path j from input to output
  1   (all loop gains)
  (nontouching loop gains multiplied two at a time )
  (nontouching loop gains multiplied three at a time )
  (nontouching loop gains multiplied four at a time ) 
j   calculated after excluding all feedback loops that intersect with forward path j

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 23

Mason’s Gain Rule: Example

X Y Z

in A B C out

M j j
H
j


• M1 = ABC
• Δ1 = 1
• Δ = 1 – (L1+ L2+ L3) + (L1 L2 + L2 L3 + L3 L1) – (L1L2L3)
= 1 – (AX+BY+CZ) + (AXBY+BYCZ+CZAX) – (AXBYCZ)

ABC
H
1   AX  BY  CZ    AXBY  BYCZ  CZAX   ( AXBYCZ )

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 24

 Output Voltage Calculation (due to VREF)
Pass device

+ 1/rdsp
Load
VIN (RF1+RF2) ZL VOUT

+ gmp
Feedback
RF2
HEA(s) +
RF2+RF2
EA
VREF

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 25

Output Voltage Calculation (due to VIN)

Pass device

+ 1/rdsp
Load
VIN (RF1+RF2) ZL VOUT

+ gmp
Feedback
RF2
HEA(s) +
RF2+RF2
EA
VREF

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 26

 Line Regulation

 Changes in VIN suppressed by error amp. gain

 Reference and offset voltage drift amplified by

feedback factor

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 27

Load Regulation
VIN

EA
VOUT
RF1
IOUT
RF2

 Output impedance lowered by loop gain

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 28

 Stability
VIN

VREF
EA

VOUT
RF1
CO RL
RF2

 Closely-spaced poles compromise stability

 Needs frequency compensation

Pole-zero “cancellation”
Pole splitting

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 29

Loop Gain
VIN
VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1 CO
+ RL
VX VY RF2 ESR
-

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 30

 Loop Gain Transfer Function
Cgdp

GMEAvx ROEA C 1 vy gmpvy rdsp RL CO

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 31

Approximate Pole Zero Locations

VIN
|T|
VREF
EA

VOUT
RF1
CO RL ugf
RF2
PL PH Z log()

-180°

-90°

0°
T

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 32

 Frequency Compensation – I[1]
 Introduce zero by adding series resistor RC

vx GMEA gmp vy
CO 
ROEA C'1 ROUT RC

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 33

Loop Gain Bode Plot (Compensated)

|T|

ugf
log()
PL PH Z

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 34

 Typical LDO Implementation
VIN

VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1 CO
RL
RF2 RC=ESR

 Choose CO and RESR to achieve desired phase margin

 Vendors specify min. RESR and CO for stable operation

Can we introduce zero without using ESR resistance?

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 35

Frequency Compensation – II[2]

 Introduce zero by adding feed-forward capacitor
VIN

VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1 CF1
VX CO RL
RF2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 36

 How to Eliminate PF?
VOUT
RF1 CF ICF
VX
RF2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 37

How to Eliminate PF?

VOUT
RF1 CF ICF
VX
RF2

VOUT
RF1 ICF
VX
ICF RF2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 38

 How to Eliminate PF?
VOUT
RF1 CF ICF
VX
RF2

VOUT
RF1 CF VX sCF
VOUT
RF1 ICF
VX VX
ICF RF2 RF2 CF VOUT sCF

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 39

How to Eliminate PF?

VOUT
RF1 CF ICF
VX
RF2

VOUT
RF1 CF VX sCF
VOUT
RF1 ICF
VX VX
ICF RF2 RF2 CF VOUT sCF

VOUT
RF1 CF

VX
RF2 CF VOUT sCF

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 40

 Frequency Comp. – II Implementation
VIN

VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1 CF+CO
RL
RF2 VOUT sCF

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 41

VCCS Implementation
VIN

VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1 CF+CO
RL
RF2 VOUT sCF

1:1

VOUT
RF1
RF2
IB sCF IB

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 42

 Frequency Compensation – III
VIN
|T|
VREF C1
EA
VOUT
RF1
CO RL
RF2 ugf

Z log()
PL PH

 Make PH > ugf

 Reducing C1 is difficult
C1 is set by ILOAD and VDSAT of pass device

 Reducing ROEA degrades load/line regulation

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 43

Frequency Compensation – III[3]

 Shield C1 from loading EA using a buffer
VIN

VREF C1
EA
VOUT
ROEA RB
RF1
CO RL
RF2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 44

 Buffer Implementation
VIN

IB
VREF
EA MB VOUT
RF1
CO RL
RF2

 Source follower as a buffer

Small input capacitance
Lower output impedance  large power

 Use feedback to lower output impedance

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 45

Improved Buffer

VG
VEA MB
RB
VX
MS

 Shunt feedback reduces output impedance

Reduction factor proportional to loop gain

 Low power

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 46

 Cap-less LDO
VIN

VREF
EA VOUT

RF1
CO RL
RF2

 CO less than few hundred pF

Difficult to make output pole dominant

 Need to make EA output pole dominant

Miller compensation
Cascode compensation

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 47

Miller Compensation
VIN

VREF
EA
CC
VOUT
RF1
CO RL
RF2

 Stability is compromised at large cap loads

Need large compensation capacitor (CO < 5CC)
Sensitive to load current variation

 Poor high frequency PSR

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 48

 Cascode Compensation[4]

R2
R1 CC

M3 vout
M1 C1 M2 C2
vin

 Suppresses feed-forward path

Moves RHP zero to a very high frequency

 Preserves Miller multiplication of CC

 Pushes second pole to even higher frequencies

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 49

Cascode Compensation: Intuition

R2
CC

M3
M2
R1
Z2in

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 50

 Cascode Compensation: Intuition

R2
CC

M3
M2
R1
Z2in

R2

M3 Z2out
M2
R1

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 51

LDO w/ Cascode Compensation

VIN

VREF MP
EA MB VOUT

CC RF1 CO RL
RF2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 52

 Cascode Compensation[5]
VIN

VREF MP
EA MB VOUT

CC RF1 CO RL
RF2

For small CO

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 53

Cascode Compensation[5]
VIN

VREF MP
EA MB VOUT

CC RF1 CO RL
RF2

For large CO

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 54

 Stability Quality Factor

90

85

80
Phase Margin [Degrees]

75

70

65

60

55

50 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4

10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Load Capacitance [F]

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 55

Phase Margin Vs. IL[3]

90

85
Phase Margin [Degrees]

80

75

70

65

60 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Load Current [mA]
P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 56
 Power Supply Rejection
VIN

VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1
CO RL
RF2

 Many paths from input to output

Reference generator
Error amplifier
Pass device

 Need to evaluate their combined effect on PSR

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 57

PSR Calculation

+ 1/rdsp
VIN (RF1+RF2) ZL VOUT

+ gmp

RF2
HEA(s) +
RF2+RF2
PSREA VREF
PSRREF

 PSREA = PSR of error amplifier

 PSRREF = PSR of reference generator

 Signal flow analysis to determine overall PSR

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 58

 PSR Calculation

+ 1/rdsp
VIN (RF1+RF2) ZL VOUT

+ gmp

RF2
HEA(s) +
RF2+RF2
PSREA VREF
PSRREF

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 59

Reducing Noise Leakage from Reference

VIN

VREF
EA
VOUT
RF1
LPF
RF2

 PSRREF sees low pass response

 Noise leakage improved by using a low pass filter

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 60

 Error Amplifier PSR (Type – A)
 PSREA depends on amplifier topology

vdd M3 M4
vout
M1 M2

M5

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Error Amplifier PSR (Type – A)

 PSREA depends on amplifier topology

vdd M3 M4
vout
M1 M2

M5

vdd ix 1/gm3 rds4 ix

RX
iout
M1 M2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 62

 Error Amplifier PSR (Type – A)
 PSREA depends on amplifier topology

vdd M3 M4
vout
M1 M2

M5

vdd ix 1/gm3 rds4 ix

RX
iout
M1 M2

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 63

Error Amplifier PSR (Type – B)

vdd M5

M1 M2
vout
M3 M4

 None of the supply-noise appears at the output

PSR = 

 Good for regulator with NMOS output stage

Prevents noise leakage through NMOS gate

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 64

 PMOS Output Stage PSR

vdd

vout VDD

 Two scenarios for PSR calculation

1. Gate of M1 not coupled to VDD

Behaves as a common gate stage

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PMOS Output Stage PSR

M1 vdd M1 vdd

vout vdd vout

VDD VDD
RL RL

 Two scenarios for PSR calculation

1. Gate of M1 not coupled to VDD

Behaves as a common gate stage

2. Gate of M1 tightly coupled to VDD

Becomes a resistor divider

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 66

 NMOS Output Stage PSR

M1 vdd M1 vdd

vout vdd vout

VDD VDD
RL RL

 Two scenarios for PSR calculation

1. Gate of M1 not coupled to VDD

M1 acts as a cascode

2. Gate of M1 tightly coupled to VDD

Behaves as a source follower

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 67

Error Amp. and Output Stage Possibilities[6]

 Four possibilities
1. NMOS amplifier & PMOS output stage
2. NMOS amplifier & NMOS output stage
3. PMOS amplifier & PMOS output stage
4. PMOS amplifier & NMOS output stage

 Cases (1) and (4) yield best PSR VDD

VDD

Case 1 Case 4

VREF

VREF
RL
RL

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 68

 Regulator PSR1/2
VDD vdd
vref
roa CC vX gmPvX rdsP
CC
VREF ωa gma vout
ωa ωo
RL CD
VOUT
ωo
CD RL

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 69

Regulator PSR2/2

VDD

CC
VREF ωa

VOUT
ωo
CD RL

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 70

 PSR Improvement Techniques
1. NMOS output stage

2. Make regulator output pole dominant

3. Cascaded regulators

4. Replica regulators

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 71

NMOS Output Stage LDO

VDD
RF

CF VOUT
RL

VDD

Voltage RF
Booster
CF VOUT
RL

 Large dropout voltage

 Poor low frequency PSR

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 72
 PMOS LDO w/ Output Pole Dominant

VDD

CC
VREF ωa

VOUT
ωo
CD RL

 No peaking in the supply noise transfer curve

Superior supply noise rejection

 Needs very large capacitors: CC and CD

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 73

Cascaded LDOs
VDD

REGULATOR1
VREF1 PSR1
VDO1
VOUT1
REGULATOR2
VREF2 PSR2
VDO2

VOUT

 Dropout voltage traded for PSR

 Co-optimize the regulators for best PSR

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 74
 Replica-based LDO[7],[8]
VDD

VIN MR
MM
VREP VOUT
RREP RL CD

Replica Output
output stage stage

 Indirect output regulation

Only scaled replica output is regulated
Accuracy depends on matching

 Stability independent of the load

Variable load outside the feedback loop

 Exhibits superior PSR performance

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 75

Replica-based LDO PSR1/2

vdd
roa C C vX gmrvX rdsP gmpVX rdsP
vref
gma vout
ωa ωo ωd
rrep CP RL CD

vrep

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 76

 Replica-based LDO PSR2/2

Conventional (d = )

RB-LDO

 Large PSR improvement beyond d

 d > a eliminates “peaking”

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 77

References
1. ESR, Stability, and the LDO Regulator, 2002 :Texas Instruments.
2. C. Chava and J. Silva-Martinez "A robust frequency compensation scheme
for LDO voltage regulators", IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. I, Reg. Papers, vol.
51, no. 6, pp. 1041-1050 2004.
3. M. Al-Shyoukh, H. Lee, R. Perez, "A transient-enhanced low-quiescent
current low-dropout regulator with buffer impedance attenuation", IEEE J.
Solid-State Circuits, pp. 1732-1742 vol. 42, Aug. 2007.
4. B. K. Ahuja, "An improved frequency compensation technique for CMOS
operational amplifiers", IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. SC-18, no.
6, pp.629 -633 1983.
5. R. Reay and G. Kovas, "An unconditionally stable two-stage CMOS
amplifier", IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 30, pp.591 -594 1995
6. V. Gupta , G. Rincon-Mora and P. Raha "Analysis and design of monolithic,
high PSR, linear regulators for SoC applications", Proc. IEEE Int. Syst. Chip
Conf., pp.311 -315 2004.
7. G. W. den Besten and B. Nauta, "Embedded 5-V-to-3.3-V voltage regulator
for supplying digital ICs in 3.3 V technology", IEEE J. Solid-State
Circuits, vol. 33, no. 7, pp.956 -962 1998.
8. A. Arakali, S. Gondi, and P. Hanumolu, “Low-power supply-regulation
techniques for ring oscillators in phase-locked loops using a split-tuned
architecture,” IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 44, no. 8, pp. 2169-2181,
Aug. 2009.

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 78

 Acknowledgments
 Mrunmay Talegoankar, Saurabh Saxena, Seong-Joong
Kim, Tianyu Wang, and Ahmed Elkholy for reviewing,
providing detailed feedback and for assistance with
preparation

 Eric Naviasky for coordination

P. Hanumolu CICC 2015 Low Dropout Regulators Page 79