Adjustable soft shutdown and current booster for gate driver

A method for controlling a high-power drive device external to a package of a gate drive circuit, the method comprising:

• charging a control node over a first length of time using a first node in response to an absence of a fault condition and a first level of a control signal;
• and
• discharging the control node over a second length of time in response to the absence of the fault condition using a second node and a second level of the control signal;
• and
• discharging the control node over a third length of time using the first node in response to a presence of the fault condition, the third length of time being different from the second length of time,
• wherein discharging the control node over the third length of time comprises:
• attenuating a voltage on the control node using a passive element;
• and
• amplifying a first current through the first node.

An apparatus for controlling a high-power drive device, the apparatus comprising:

• a first node;
• a second node;
• a control node;
• means for charging the control node over a first length of time in response to a first signal through the first node and for discharging the control node over a second length of time by amplifying the first signal through the first node;
• and
• means for discharging the control node over a third length of time in response to a second signal through the second node, wherein the third length of time is different from the second length of time.