SBIR Phase II: Integrated Voltage Regulators for Small Footprint, Efficient Power Delivery in Mobile Electronics

Lion Semiconductor, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to develop integrated voltage regulators (IVR) that are 10 times smaller than existing solutions. Power management ICs (PMICs) are chips in mobile electronic devices that deliver power from the battery to different chips (e.g., processor, memory). Existing PMICs use discrete board-level inductors to efficiently deliver power, but the problem is that inductors occupy a large area on the board. This is especially problematic in space-constrained mobile electronic devices. Mobile device manufacturers put tremendous amounts of effort to reduce square millimeters of board area to make room for additional semiconductor chips for new features. Using IVRs, mobile devices can have extra space that used to be dedicated to bulky discrete components for PMICs, and use that space to either include new chips for new features or increase the battery size for longer battery life. This project will first work on semiconductor test-chip prototypes that prove the idea of IVRs. Then, the next step is to demonstrate it in commercial mobile electronic devices. The goal of the project is to ship IVRs in high-volume smartphones and tablets by replacing existing PMICs. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is in saving board area and processor power consumption in mobile devices, which is crucial for continued innovation in mobile devices. Mobile device manufacturers always look for new features to add in their next generation products to differentiate themselves from competitors. New features often need additional chips, but the problem is that there is simply no area left in the mobile devices for new chips. One way to solve this is to shrink the battery and leave more room for chips, but this is unacceptable since it reduces battery life. The only way to keep introducing new features and chips is to reduce the existing board area. IVRs solve this burning need of mobile devices. Using IVRs, phones and tablets will have extra space in their board to include new features such as micro-projectors and ultra-accurate motion sensing. The technology developed from this project is essential in allowing mobile devices to keep improving with new features. This project aims to have a big impact in the fast-growing smartphone and tablet market with 1 billion and 250 million in annual shipments, respectively.