As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is an information handling system (IHS). An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for such systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Furthermore, an IHS may include a voltage regulator to provide a constant voltage level and a current to power the system. For example, a voltage regulator may receive an input voltage and produce an output current at a predetermined output voltage required by a load, i.e., the circuit element(s) for which it is providing power. Moreover, modern IHSs may include components that maintain current requirements across a broad range from relatively high peak currents to very low stable currents. More particularly, voltage regulators may be required to maintain a high efficiency, or low power loss, over such ranges. In particular, a direct current to direct current (DC-DC) voltage regulator may include a controller, one or more drivers, and one or more power stages. Furthermore, a power stage may include one or more metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs), which may be driven by the drivers.
Additionally, some voltage regulators may be capable of operating in multiple phases. To this end, the concept of a phase for a voltage regulator may typically refer to combining a driver and a power stage to form one phase. Thus, a multi-phase voltage regulator may include multiple instances of such combinations. Alternatively, a multi-phase voltage regulator may be thought as a combination of single phase voltage regulators. For example, a multi-phase voltage regulator may include a plurality of single phase voltage regulators coupled in parallel to provide varying ranges of output current. During periods of high loads, the multi-phase voltage regulator may function with all phases in operation. In contrast, for low loads, it may employ phase-shedding and operate with a reduced number of phases.
Still, certain inefficiencies may arise due to the internal circuit designs of voltage regulators. For instance, different (MOSFET) configurations within a power stage may contribute to varying levels of power loss depending on different load ranges. Furthermore, the dead time, which may refer to a time of inactivity between turning one MOSFET on and another off, between high-side and low-side MOSFETs may also have an impact on efficiency. Thus, there is a need to dynamically adjust MOSFET configurations and dead times within a voltage regulator according to the load current.