Driver circuit for driving a half bridge
AssigneeInfineon Technologies AG
InventorsRainald Sander, Axel Christoph
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a driver circuit for driving a half bridge, that has a high-side semiconductor switch and a low-side semiconductor switch that are connected in series between a first and a second supply potential terminal, a drive is allocated to each of the two semiconductor switches that are respectively switched inhibited or transmissive by the respective semiconductor switches according to the direction of a drive signal. A load can be connected between the high-side semiconductor switch and the low-side semiconductor switch. For an inhibited state of a semiconductor switch, its drive terminal is charged approximately with the potential of the second supply potential terminal in order to attain a negative bias voltage of the drive terminal opposite the source terminal.
Claims15
In a half-bridge circuit having a high-side semiconductor switch connected between a first potential supply terminal and a junction to a load, and a low-side semiconductor switch connected between said junction and a second potential supply terminal, each of said semiconductor switches having a control input, and wherein one of said semiconductor switches is operated as a modulate switch by a modulating signal which alternatingly causes said modulated switch to be transmissive and inhibited, and wherein the other of said semiconductor switches is operated by a drive circuit as a driven switch dependent on at least one control signal so that only one of said semiconductor switches is inhibited at a time, the improvement comprising:
- said drive circuit including circuitry for inhibiting said driven switch by charging the control terminal of the driven switch approximately with a potential at said second supply potential terminal.
In a half-bridge circuit having a high-side semiconductor switch connected between a first potential supply terminal and a junction to a load, and a low-side semiconductor switch connected between said junction and a second potential supply terminal, each of said semiconductor switches having a control input, a first drive circuit for operating said high-side semiconductor switch in response to a control signal for alternatingly causing said high-side semiconductor switch to become transmissive and inhibited, and a second drive circuit for operating said low-side semiconductor switch in response to said control signal for alternatingly causing said low-side semiconductor switch to become transmissive and inhibited in opposition to said high-side semiconductor switch, the improvement comprising:
- said first drive circuit including circuitry for inhibiting said high-side semiconductor switch by charging said control input of said high-side semiconductor switch approximately at said potential of said second supply potential terminal, and said second drive circuit including circuitry for inhibiting said low-side semiconductor switch by charging said control terminal of said low-side semiconductor switch approximately at said potential of said second supply potential terminal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.