Electric field grading protection design surrounding a galvanic or capacitive isolator
AssigneeAnalog Devices International Unlimited Company
InventorsSombel Diaham, Paul Lambkin, Bernard Patrick Stenson, Patrick M. McGuinness, Laurence B. O'Sullivan, Stephen O'Brien
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Micro-isolators exhibiting enhanced isolation breakdown voltage are described. The micro-isolators may include an electrically floating ring surrounding one of the isolator elements of the micro-isolator. The isolator elements may be capacitor plates or coils. The electrically floating ring surrounding one of the isolator elements may reduce the electric field at the outer edge of the isolator element, thereby enhancing the isolation breakdown voltage.
Claims20
A micro-isolator with enhanced isolation breakdown voltage, comprising:
- a first isolator element in a first plane, wherein the first isolator element comprises a first coil or a first plate;
- a second isolator element in a second plane, wherein the second isolator element comprises a second coil or a second plate;
- a first dielectric material, comprising a polymer, disposed between the first and second isolator elements;
- a first electrically floating ring disposed in the first plane and surrounding the first isolator element;
- a second electrically floating ring concentric with the first electrically floating ring;
- and
- a third electrically floating ring concentric with the second electrically floating ring, wherein a first gap distance between the third electrically floating ring and the second electrically floating ring differs from a second gap distance between the second electrically floating ring and the first electrically floating ring.
A micro-isolator with enhanced isolation breakdown voltage, comprising:
- first and second isolator elements disposed in respective planes, wherein the first isolator element comprises a first coil or a first plate and the second isolator element comprises a second coil or a second plate;
- a first dielectric material, comprising a polymer, disposed between the first and second isolator elements;
- an electrically floating ring in-plane with and surrounding the first isolator element;
- and
- a second dielectric material separating the first isolator element from the electrically floating ring,
- wherein the second dielectric material encapsulates the first isolator element but not the electrically floating ring.
A micro-isolator with enhanced isolation breakdown voltage, comprising:
- a first isolator element in a first plane, comprising a first coil or a first plate;
- a second isolator element in a second plane, comprising a second coil or a second plate;
- a polymeric dielectric material disposed between the first and second isolator elements;
- and
- first, second and third concentric electrically floating rings surrounding the first isolator element in the first plane;
- wherein a first gap distance between the third electrically floating ring and the second electrically floating ring differs from a second gap distance between the second electrically floating ring and the first electrically floating ring.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.