US 11,929,673 B2
Two-stage voltage converters for microprocessors
Francesco Carobolante, Reno, NV (US); James T. Doyle, Prescott, AZ (US); and Noah Andrew Sturcken, New York, NY (US)
Assigned to Ferric Inc., New York, NY (US)
Filed by Ferric Inc., New York, NY (US)
Filed on Oct. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/452,816.
Prior Publication US 2023/0139978 A1, May 4, 2023
Int. Cl. H02M 3/07 (2006.01); G06F 1/26 (2006.01)
CPC H02M 3/07 (2013.01) [G06F 1/26 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An assembly comprising:
a first three-level voltage converter having an input electrically coupled to a voltage source to receive a battery-supply voltage, the first three-level voltage converter configured to convert the battery-supply voltage to an intermediate voltage at an output of the first three-level voltage converter, the intermediate voltage lower than the battery-supply voltage;
a processor module comprising:
a processor package substrate;
a second three-level voltage converter mounted on the processor package substrate, the second three-level voltage converter having an input electrically coupled to the output of the first three-level voltage converter to receive the intermediate voltage, the second three-level voltage converter configured to convert the intermediate voltage to a processor-supply voltage at an output of the second three-level voltage converter, the processor-supply voltage lower than the intermediate voltage; and
a processor chip mounted on the processor package substrate, the processor chip having an input that is electrically coupled to the output of the second three-level voltage converter to receive the processor-supply voltage; and
a controller that adjusts the intermediate voltage depending on the battery-supply voltage and a requested voltage by the processor to maximize a voltage conversion efficiency and/or to reduce a processor-supply voltage ripple;
wherein the controller is integrated with the first three-level voltage converter, with the second three-level voltage converter and/or inside the processor chip.