Power semiconductor device current sensing

A driver circuit, comprising:

• an amplifier;
• a gate control terminal;
• a source mirror terminal connected to a first input of the amplifier;
• a drain mirror terminal connected to a second input of the amplifier;
• a gate protection terminal;
• a gate protection circuit connected to the gate protection terminal and the gate control terminal;
• a drain mirror terminal connected to a negative reference terminal of the amplifier;
• and
• a voltage supply terminal connected to a positive reference terminal of the amplifier, wherein the amplifier is configured to measure a current flowing between the source mirror terminal and the drain mirror terminal responsive to a gate signal on the gate control terminal.

A load powering circuit, comprising:

• a power circuit, comprising:
• a power semiconductor device;
• a mirror circuit connected to the power semiconductor device and configured to generate a mirror current signal based on current flowing through the power semiconductor device;
• a first sense transistor having an input connected to a drain of the power semiconductor device;
• and
• a second sense transistor having an input connected to a drain of the current mirror;
• and
• a driver circuit, comprising:
• a first amplifier having a first input terminal connected to the first sense transistor and a second input terminal connected to the second sense transistor and generating an output based on a negative current flowing through the power semiconductor device;
• and
• a second amplifier having a first input terminal and a second input terminal connected to the mirror circuit and generating an output based on a positive current flowing through the power semiconductor device.