A Low-Power Wide-Load-Range Output-Capacitorless Low-Dropout Voltage Regulator With Indirect-Direct Nested Miller Compensation

Abstract

This paper presents the design of an output-capacitorless low-dropout voltage regulator (OCL-LDO) capable of driving a wide range of load capacitance and supplying a wide range of load current while maintaining excellent load and line regulations, thanks to the combined indirect-direct nested Miller compensation which ensures stability and maintains a high loop gain over the whole range of load condition. Fabricated in a 0.18- $\mu \text{m}$ CMOS process and consuming 14 $\mu \text{A}$ of quiescent current, the OCL-LDO, while supplying the load current between 0 mA to 100 mA, is capable of driving the load capacitance in the range of 0–1 nF; with a minimum load current of 1 mA, however, the OCL-LDO can drive up to 10 nF of load capacitance. Over such wide load-current and load-capacitance ranges, the OCL-LDO achieves DC load and line regulations of 0.025 mV/mA and 0.5 mV/V, respectively.

Keywords

• Output-capacitorless
• low-dropout voltage regulator
• wide load range
• load regulation
• line regulation
• low-power regulator