US 2010/0137720 A1 · SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DEVICE

Abstract

With an ultrasound pulser suitable for application to a medical ultrasound system, and so forth, a high voltage power supply of a transducer drive circuitry, on both high potential and low potential sides, is rendered variable in a range of 0 V on the order of ±200 V, thereby implementing a semiconductor integrated circuit wherein a plurality of the ultrasound pulsers corresponding to a plurality of channels, respectively, are integrally formed on a small area. The ultrasound pulser has a configuration wherein, in a MOSFET gate drive circuitry, an input voltage pulse is converted into a current pulse, and the current pulse is converted again into a voltage pulse on the basis of a high potential side voltage +HV, and a low potential side voltage −HV, applied to a transducer drive circuitry, whereupon voltage level shift in the input voltage pulse is attained, and a voltage pulse swing of an output buffer of the MOSFET gate drive circuitry receiving a shifted voltage pulse is generated by the MOSFET gate drive circuitry similarly on the basis of the high potential side voltage +HV, and the low potential side voltage −HV, applied to the transducer drive circuitry. The MOSFET gate drive circuitry is DC-coupled with the transducer drive circuitry.

Claims18

Dependent claims

1-19. (canceled)

A semiconductor integrated circuit comprising:

a pair of input terminals;
a first drive circuitry connected to said pair of terminals to convert a first voltage pulse signal, having a first reference potential and being inputted from said pair of input terminals, into a second voltage pulse signal having a second reference potential higher than the first reference potential to be thereby outputted;
a second drive circuitry connected to a pair of outputs of said first drive circuitry to generate a fourth voltage pulse signal with a voltage swing based on a potential difference between the second reference potential and a ground potential to drive an external output load on the basis of the second voltage pulse signal being inputted from the pair of outputs of said first drive circuitry to be thereby outputted;
and
an output being commonly connected to a pair of outputs of said second drive circuitry to output the fourth voltage pulse signal being outputted by said second drive circuitry to the external output load;
a first power supply voltage terminal to which a first power supply voltage is to be applied;
a second power supply voltage terminal to which a second power supply voltage being higher than the first power supply voltage is to be applied;
a third power supply voltage terminal to which a third power supply voltage is to be applied,
wherein said first drive circuitry is integrated with said second drive circuitry monolithically into a single semiconductor substrate,
wherein the pair of outputs of said first drive circuitry are mutually DC-coupled with a pair of inputs of said second drive circuitry, respectively,
wherein said second drive circuitry generates the fourth voltage pulse signal from the second power supply voltage being applied to said second drive circuitry through said second power supply voltage terminal based on the second voltage pulse signal, and
wherein said semiconductor integrated circuit generates an input gate voltage level of said second drive circuitry by using the second power supply voltage and a fourth power supply voltage generated based on the second power supply voltage by an internal power supply circuit included in said first drive circuitry.

9 more elements

A semiconductor integrated circuit comprising:

a first drive circuit having a first voltage resistance;
and
a second drive circuit connected to a back stage of the first drive circuit and having a second voltage resistance higher than the first voltage resistance,
wherein the first drive circuit includes voltage-to-current converters for converting an input voltage signal having a first reference potential into a current signal, respectively, and current-to-voltage converters for converting the current signal into a voltage signal having a second reference potential higher than the first reference potential, respectively, and
wherein an input gate voltage swing of said second drive circuit is generated by an internal power supply circuit including a source follower, in the respective current-to-voltage converters of said first drive circuit on the basis of the second power supply voltage.

2 more elements

A semiconductor integrated circuit comprising:

a first drive circuit having a first voltage resistance;
and
a second drive circuit connected to a back stage of the first drive circuit, having a second voltage resistance higher than the first voltage resistance,
wherein the first drive circuit is made up so as to be operated by first, second, and third operating voltages, respectively, having a circuit for generating a second potential having a predetermined potential difference on the basis of a predetermined third potential, and
wherein said semiconductor integrated circuit generates an input gate voltage level of said second drive circuit by using the second power supply voltage and a fourth power supply voltage generated based on the second power supply voltage by an internal power supply circuit included in said first drive circuit.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

12/700,625Filed 4 Feb 2010

Priority

JP 2007-09020730 Mar 2007

Published

3 Jun 2010

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

H02M 7/538
Using semiconductor devices only, e.g. single switched pulse inverters: in a push-pull configuration
H03K 3/356113
Using complementary field-effect transistors: using additional transistors in the input circuit
H03K 19/018521
Interface arrangements: of complementary type, e.g. CMOS
H02M
Apparatus for conversion between ac and ac, between ac and dc, or

Semiconductor integrated circuit device

Life of this patent

Semiconductor integrated circuit device

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18