Efficient High Voltage Switching Circuits and Monolithic Integration of Same

Abstract

A high voltage switching circuit includes first and second group III-V transistors, the second group III-V transistor having a greater breakdown voltage than the first group III-V transistor. The circuit further includes a silicon diode in a parallel arrangement with the first group III-V transistor, the parallel arrangement being in cascade with the second group III-V transistor. The circuit is effectively a three-terminal device, where a first terminal is coupled to a gate of the second III-V transistor, a source of the first III-V transistor, and an anode of the silicon diode. A second terminal is coupled to a gate of the first group III-V transistor, and a third terminal is coupled to a drain of the second group III-V transistor. The first group III-V transistor might be an enhancement mode transistor. The second group III-V transistor might be a depletion mode transistor. The first and second group III-V transistors can be GaN HEMTs.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.