Flexible fault detection

A method of driving a drive device comprising:

• with a first gate driver controller circuit in a first voltage domain in a first packaged module, generating at least one first device control signal based at least on a first input control signal;
• with a first gate driver circuit in a second voltage domain in the first packaged module higher than the first voltage domain, receiving the at least one first device control signal across a communications channel across a first isolation barrier between the first voltage domain and the second voltage domain, and driving a first node connected to a first drive device;
• with a first fault detection circuit in a second packaged module, detecting a fault in a configuration of the first drive device;
• reporting the fault using a feedback communications channel across a second isolation barrier in the second packaged module between the first voltage domain and the second voltage domain;
• and
• adjusting the first input control signal in response to the reported fault.

A system for controlling a drive device, the system comprising:

• a first packaged module including a first fault detection circuit configured to provide to a first voltage domain, across a first isolation barrier between the first voltage domain and a second voltage domain, a first fault indication signal associated with at least a first drive device;
• a second packaged module including a second fault detection circuit configured to provide to the first voltage domain, across a second isolation barrier between the first voltage domain and the second voltage domain, a second fault indication signal associated with at least the first drive device;
• and
• a third packaged module including a gate driver circuit configured to drive a first node in the second voltage domain in response to at least one first device control signal received across a third isolation barrier between the first voltage domain and the second voltage domain, the first node coupled to the first drive device, and the third packaged module further including a driver control circuit in the first voltage domain configured to generate the at least one first device control signal based at least on a first input control signal, the first input control signal generated in response to one or both of the first fault indication signal and the second fault indication signal.