Method of kelvin current sense in a semiconductor package
AssigneeDell Products L.P.
InventorsJohn Billingsley, Erin Taylor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Regulating a direct current-to-direct current (DC-DC) converter, a semiconductor switch having an improved current sensing technique is used to switch a DC voltage input at a predefined frequency. The switch includes a control pin to receive a control signal for controlling a current flowing between an input pin and an output pin. The switch also includes a Kelvin sense pin electrically coupled to an output pad located on a semiconductor die of the device for sensing the current. An electrical path from the output pad to the output pin in the form of a conductive lead wire has a predefined resistance. The current is Kelvin current sensed using the predefined resistance to tightly control deviation in the current beyond a predefined range.
Claims14
A semiconductor device comprising:
- an input pin to receive an input;
- an output pin coupled to a first side of a comparator;
- a control pin to receive a control signal, wherein the control signal controls a flow of current between the output pin and the input pin;
- and
- a Kelvin sense pin electrically coupled between a die of the semiconductor device and the output pin and also coupled to a second side of the comparator for determining a voltage drop across the outpin pin, whereby the voltage drop is used to control the flow to current from the input pin to the output pin.
-8. (canceled)
A semiconductor device comprising:
- an input pin to receive an input;
- an output pin coupled to a first side of a comparator;
- an control pin to receive a control signal, wherein the control signal controls a flow of current between the output pin and the input pin;
- and
- a Kelvin sense pin electrically coupled between a die of the semiconductor device and the output pin and also coupled to a second side of the comparator for determining voltage drop across the output pin, wherein a layout of the input pin, the output pin and the control pin is in accordance with an 8-pin small outline (SO8) integrated circuit (IC) footprint, and wherein the SO8 footprint is modified by including the Kelvin sense pin as a 9th pin.
A semiconductor device comprising:
- an input pin to receive an input;
- an output pin coupled to a first side of a comparator;
- a control pin to receive a control signal, wherein the control signal controls a flow of current between the output pin and the input pin;
- and
- a Kelvin sense pin electrically coupled between a die of the semiconductor device and the output pin and also coupled to a second side of the comparator for determining voltage drop across the output pin, wherein packaging for the input pin, the output pin and the control pin is in accordance with a flip-leaded molded package (FLMP), and wherein the FLMP footprint is modified by including the Kelvin sense pin as a 6th pin.
A semiconductor device comprising:
- an input pin to receive an input;
- an output pin coupled to a first side of a comparator;
- a control pin to receive a control signal, wherein the control signal controls a flow of current between the output pin and the input pin;
- a Kelvin sense pin electrically coupled between a die of the semiconductor device and the output pin and also coupled to a second side of the comparator for determining voltage drop across the output pin;
- and
- wherein the comparator is a differential amplifier to receive a first input from the Kelvin sense pin and a second input from the output pin, wherein the differential amplifier provides an output indicative of the current.
A method for sensing current flowing through a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- selecting a portion of a current path within the semiconductor device, wherein the portion of the current path has a predefined resistance, wherein the predefined resistance is independent of semiconductor properties of the semiconductor device;
- and
- measuring voltage across the portion of the current path to sense the current.
An information handling system (IHS) comprising:
- a processor;
- a power supply having a semiconductor device, the power supply operable to provide power to the processor, wherein the semiconductor device includes:
- an input pin to receive an input;
- an output pin coupled to a first side of a comparator;
- a control pin to receive a control signal, wherein the control signal controls a flow of current between the output pin and the input pin and wherein the power is interrupted when a value of the current is greater than a predefined value;
- and
- a Kelvin sense pin electrically coupled between a die of the semiconductor device and the output pin and also coupled to a second side of the comparator for determining voltage drop across the output pin.
-20. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.