# US 10,504,769 B2 · Regulated high side gate driver circuit for power transistors > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,504,769 B2 - Document ID: US10504769B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/532,025 - Filed: 2015-11-25 - Published: 2017-09-21 - Granted: 2019-12-10 - Earliest claimed: 2014-12-09 - Assignees: Infineon Technologies Austria AG - Applicants: Infineon Technologies Austria AG - Inventors: Mikkel Høyerby; Allan Nogueras Nielsen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10504769B2 ## CPC - H10W 10/30: Isolation regions comprising PN junctions - H02M 1/08: Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters - H03F 3/2173: {of the bridge type} - H10D 84/0191: {Manufacturing their doped wells} - H10D 84/038: {using silicon technology, e.g. SiGe} - H10D 84/85: Complementary IGFETs, e.g. CMOS - H10W 10/031: {of isolation regions comprising PN junctions} - H03K 2217/0063: High side switches, i.e. the higher potential [DC] or life wire [AC] being directly connected to the switch and not via the load - H03K 2217/0081: Power supply means, e.g. to the switch driver - H10W: GENERIC PACKAGES, INTERCONNECTIONS, CONNECTORS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - H02M: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC, OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUT POWER; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF (transformers H01F; dynamo-electric converters H02K47/00; controlling transformers, reactors or choke coils, control or regulation of electric motors, generators or dynamo-electric converters H02P) - H03F: AMPLIFIERS - H10D: INORGANIC ELECTRIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES - H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M) ## Abstract A regulated high side gate driver circuit for power transistors. The regulated high side gate driver circuit includes a gate driver powered by a floating voltage regulator, which includes a linear regulating device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A regulated high side gate driver circuit for power transistors, comprising: a gate driver comprising a high side positive supply voltage port, a high side negative supply voltage port, a driver input and a driver output; and a floating voltage regulator comprising: a positive regulator input, connectable to a high side DC voltage supply, a regulated DC voltage output, a negative regulator input, a linear regulating device connected to the regulated DC voltage output and configured for suppressing noise and ripple voltage on the high side DC voltage supply in the regulated DC voltage output, a DC reference voltage generator configured to generate a DC reference voltage at a control terminal of the linear regulating device to set a DC voltage level at the regulated DC voltage output, a regulation capacitor connected between positive and negative terminals of the DC reference voltage generator, and configured to suppress noise and ripple within the generated DC reference voltage; wherein the negative regulator input is connected to the high side negative supply voltage port and the regulated DC voltage output is connected to the high side positive supply voltage port of the gate driver. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein the regulation capacitor comprises a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 2, wherein the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor has a capacitance between 1 pF and 100 pF or between 10 pF and 50 pF. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein the floating voltage regulator comprises an open-loop topology without a voltage or current regulation feedback loop from the regulated DC voltage output back to the control terminal of the linear regulating device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein the linear regulating device comprises: a pass transistor connected between the positive regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output, wherein a control terminal of the pass transistor is connected to the DC reference voltage generated by the DC reference voltage generator. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 5, wherein the pass transistor comprises a MOSFET or bipolar transistor with a source or emitter, respectively, connected to the regulated DC voltage output, and a drain or collector terminal, respectively, connected to the positive regulator input. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein the linear regulating device comprises a class AB output stage having a positive power supply terminal connected to the positive regulator input and a negative power supply terminal connected to the negative regulator input; and wherein a control terminal of the class AB output stage is connected to the DC reference voltage and an output of the class AB output stage is coupled to the regulated DC voltage output to source current to, and sink current from, a load at the regulated DC voltage output. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 7, wherein the class AB output stage comprises: a first output transistor connected between the positive regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output, a second output transistor connected between the negative regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output; and a bias voltage circuit connected between respective control terminals of the first and second output transistors to set a predetermined DC bias current therein. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein the DC reference voltage generator comprises a reversely biased Zener diode. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein the DC reference voltage generator comprises a shunt regulator circuit. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 10, wherein the shunt regulator circuit comprises: a shunt transistor connected between the DC reference voltage and the negative regulator input, an error amplifier comprising an output, a first input and a second input where the output is connected to a control terminal of the shunt transistor, a voltage divider connected to the DC reference voltage and configured to supply a shunt voltage proportional to the DC reference voltage to the first input of the error amplifier, a second DC voltage reference connected to the second input of the error amplifier. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, comprising: a semiconductor substrate comprising a first polarity semiconductor material in which a first well diffusion is formed, the first well diffusion comprising a second polarity semiconductor material and having a peripheral outer wall abutted to the semiconductor substrate, a second well diffusion comprising first polarity semiconductor material arranged inside the first well diffusion such that an outer peripheral wall of the second well diffusion is abutted to an inner peripheral wall of the first well diffusion; and the gate driver being arranged in the second well diffusion; an electrical connection between each of the first and second well diffusions and the high side negative supply voltage port of the gate driver. ### Claim 13 (depends on 2) An integrated semiconductor substrate comprising: a regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 2 wherein integrated circuit components of the gate driver and integrated circuit components of the floating voltage regulator, except for the regulation capacitor, are integrated in a first set of layers of the semiconductor substrate, and the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor is integrated in a second set of layers of the semiconductor substrate arranged above the first set of layers such that the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor at least partly overlays the integrated circuit components of the gate driver and the floating voltage regulator. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) A class D audio amplifier output stage comprising: a plurality of stacked power transistors connected between a positive power supply rail and a negative power supply rail of the class D audio amplifier, the plurality of stacked power transistors comprising respective control terminals configured to switch each power transistor between a conducting state and a non-conducting state in accordance with a control voltage, a plurality of regulated high side gate driver circuits according to claim 1, wherein driver outputs of the plurality of regulated high side gate driver circuits are connected to the respective control terminals of the plurality of stacked power transistors; and wherein source terminals of the plurality of stacked power transistors are connected to respective ones of the high side negative supply voltage ports of the plurality of regulated high side gate driver circuits. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) A class D audio amplifier output stage according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of stacked power transistors comprises: a first leg comprising at least first and second cascaded power transistors connected between the positive power supply rail and a signal output of the output stage, and a second leg comprising at least third and fourth cascaded power transistors connected between the signal output and a negative power supply rail of the output stage. ### Claim 16 (depends on 4) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 4, wherein the linear regulating device comprises: a pass transistor connected between the positive regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output, wherein a control terminal of the pass transistor is connected to the DC reference voltage generated by the DC reference voltage generator. ### Claim 17 (depends on 5) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 5, wherein the linear regulating device comprises a class AB output stage having a positive power supply terminal connected to the positive regulator input and a negative power supply terminal connected to the negative regulator input; and wherein a control terminal of the class AB output stage is connected to the DC reference voltage and an output of the class AB output stage is coupled to the regulated DC voltage output to source current to, and sink current from, a load at the regulated DC voltage output. ### Claim 18 (depends on 6) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 6, wherein the linear regulating device comprises a class AB output stage having a positive power supply terminal connected to the positive regulator input and a negative power supply terminal connected to the negative regulator input; and wherein a control terminal of the class AB output stage is connected to the DC reference voltage and an output of the class AB output stage is coupled to the regulated DC voltage output to source current to, and sink current from, a load at the regulated DC voltage output. ### Claim 19 (depends on 2) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 2, wherein the MIM capacitor is integrated in a same semiconductor die as the linear regulating device and the DC reference voltage generator. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) A regulated high side gate driver circuit according to claim 1, wherein the high side DC voltage supply has a voltage that is higher than a positive DC voltage rail coupled to a power transistor that is driven by the regulated high side gate driver circuit.