Asymmetric common source inductances to reduce turn-off overvoltage in mosfets
AssigneeSemiconductor Components Industries, LLC
InventorsJaume ROIG-GUITART, Alexis Anselmo GOMEZ, Juan Ramon GARCIA-MERE
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A circuit includes a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) having a gate, a source, and a drain. The circuit further includes a first inductor and a second inductor. The first inductor has a small inductance value that is less than a larger inductance value of the second inductor. The circuit further includes a switch configured to include the first inductor in a current path shared by a gate loop and a source loop of the MOSFET when the MOSFET is turning on, and to include the second inductor in the current path shared by the gate loop and the source loop when the MOSFET is turning off.
Claims20
A circuit comprising:
- a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) including a gate, a source, and a drain;
- a first inductor and a second inductor, the first inductor having a small inductance value less than a larger inductance value of the second inductor;
- and
- a gate driver circuit module disposed in a gate-source loop of the MOSFET, the gate driver circuit module including:
- an amplifier configured to provide a gate drive signal for the gate of the MOSFET;
- and
- a switch controlled by the gate drive signal, the switch configured to include the first inductor in the gate-source loop of the MOSFET and bypass the second inductor when the MOSFET is turning on, and to include the second inductor in the gate-source loop when the MOSFET is turning off.
A circuit comprising:
- a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) including a gate, a source, and a drain, the gate being controlled by a gate drive signal;
- a first inductor and a second inductor disposed in series in a source-drain current path and shared with a gate driver loop of the MOSFET, the first inductor having an inductance value less than an inductance value of the second inductor;
- and
- a gate driver circuit module disposed in the gate driver loop and configured to generate the gate drive signal, the gate driver circuit module including switching circuitry configured to close such that a gate loop current flows through the first inductor and bypasses the second inductor when the MOSFET is turning on, the switching circuitry being controlled by the gate drive signal.
A method comprising:
- disposing a first inductor and a second inductor in series in a source-drain current path shared with a gate driver loop of a metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET);
- disposing a gate driver switching module in the gate driver loop, the gate driver switching module including:
- an amplifier configured to generate a gate drive signal for the MOSFET;
- and
- switching circuitry configured to switch between a first gate loop return path that includes the first inductor and bypasses the second inductor and a second gate loop return path that includes the first inductor and the second inductor, the switching circuitry being controlled by the gate drive signal;
- switching a gate loop current to flow through the first gate loop return path when the MOSFET is turning on;
- and
- switching the gate loop current to flow through the second gate loop return path when the MOSFET is turning off.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.