Controlling a switching order of power switches for mitigating voltage overstress
AssigneeNXP B.V.
InventorsSuming Lai, Kenneth Chung Yin Kwok, Fuchun Zhan
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Abstract
An example method includes controlling a switching order of a plurality of power switches. The power switches are coupled to a flying capacitor and include parasitic bipolar transistors susceptible to the voltage overstress in response to excess stray inductance of the flying capacitor. The method further includes, in response to the controlled switching order, converting an input voltage of a first voltage level to an output voltage of a second voltage level while mitigating the voltage overstress of the parasitic bipolar transistors of the plurality of power switches.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- controlling a switching order of a plurality of power switches, the power switches being coupled to a flying capacitor and the power switches including parasitic bipolar transistors susceptible to a voltage overstress in response to excess stray inductance of the flying capacitor;
- and
- in response to the controlled switching order, converting an input voltage of a first voltage level to an output voltage of a second voltage level while mitigating the voltage overstress of the parasitic bipolar transistors of the plurality of power switches.
An apparatus comprising:
- a flying capacitor susceptible to voltage over stress;
- a plurality of power switches coupled to the flying capacitor and to convert an input voltage of a first voltage level to an output voltage of a second voltage level, the plurality of power switches having parasitic bipolar transistors susceptible to voltage overstress in response to excess stray inductance of the flying capacitor;
- and
- a gate controller circuit to control a switching order of the plurality of power switches to convert the input voltage to the second voltage level while mitigating the voltage overstress of the flying capacitor and the parasitic bipolar transistors of the plurality of power switches.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.