Gate drive adapter
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsXun Gong, Ingolf Frank
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gate drive adapter circuit includes an input circuit, an output circuit, and a charge pump circuit. The input circuit is configured to receive pulses suitable for controlling a silicon power transistor. The output circuit is coupled to the input circuit. The output circuit is configured to translate the pulses to voltages suitable for controlling a silicon-carbide power transistor. The charge pump circuit is coupled to the input circuit and to the output circuit. The charge pump circuit is configured to generate a negative voltage. The output circuit is configured to apply the negative voltage to translate the pulses.
Claims9
A gate drive adapter circuit, comprising:
- a buffer circuit having a buffer input and a buffer output, wherein the buffer input is coupled to a controller input terminal, and the buffer circuit is configured to provide a buffered signal at the buffer output that is an amplified version of a signal at the buffer input;
- a drive circuit having first and second drive inputs and first and second drive outputs, wherein the first drive input is coupled to the buffer output;
- and
- a charge pump circuit having first and second charge pump inputs and a charge pump output, wherein the first charge pump input is coupled to the buffer output, the second charge pump input is coupled to the first drive output, and the charge pump circuit is configured to provide a negative voltage at the charge pump output;
- wherein the drive circuit is configured to apply the negative voltage to translate the buffered signal to a voltage for controlling a silicon-carbide power transistor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.