Half-bridge driver circuit, related integrated circuit, half-bridge circuit and method

A half-bridge driver circuit for a half-bridge configured to supply an inductive load, said half-bridge driver circuit comprising:

• a first terminal configured to provide a first drive signal to a gate terminal of a first Field-Effect Transistor (FET) representing a high-side electronic switch of said half-bridge;
• a second terminal configured to provide a second drive signal to a gate terminal of a second FET representing a low-side electronic switch of said half-bridge;
• a feedback terminal configured to receive a feedback signal indicative of a quantity to be regulated;
• wherein said half-bridge driver circuit is configured to periodically repeat switching cycles by:
• closing said first FET via said first drive signal at the beginning of each switching cycle;
• and
• detecting an instant when a current flowing through said first FET reaches a threshold value and, in response thereto, opening said first FET via said first drive signal and closing said second FET via said second drive signal;
• wherein said half-bridge driver circuit comprises:
• a variable current generator configured to generate a first current as a function of a control voltage;
• an error amplifier configured to generate said control voltage by comparing said feedback signal with a reference signal, wherein said error amplifier comprises a regulator having a proportional and an integral component;
• and
• a slope compensation circuit configured to generate a second current, wherein said second current is a ramp signal being reset at the beginning of each switching cycle, and wherein said threshold value is generated by subtracting said second current from said first current;
• wherein said half-bridge driver circuit is configured to:
• sample said second current in response to detecting said instant;
• and
• generate a signal indicative of said threshold value by determining a difference between said sampled second current and said first current.