US 7,608,810 B2 · Semiconductor device, module, and electronic device including a conversion circuit having a second switch rendered conductive together with a first switch

Abstract

The breakdown voltage between the potential of a terminal and the ground potential (or power supply potential) is improved by increasing the gate width of an MOS transistor included in a switch. Accordingly, another switch and the like are protected even when surge is applied to the terminal. By increasing the gate width of the MOS transistor included in the switch, the size of the other switch does not have to be increased. Therefore, variation in the potential at a node occurring when the other switch attains a non-conductive state from a conductive state can be suppressed. Therefore, a semiconductor device having the electrostatic breakdown voltage improved without influence on processing carried out based on an input potential from an external source, a module including a plurality of such semiconductor devices, and an electronic device including such a module can be provided.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A semiconductor device comprising:

an input terminal to receive an input potential, and
a conversion circuit to receive and shift a first signal to output a second signal based on said input potential as a reference, wherein said conversion circuit includes:
a capacitor connected between a first node to which said first signal is input and a second node from which said second signal is output,
a first switch provided between said second node and an intermediate node, and
a second switch provided between said intermediate node and said input terminal, rendered conductive together with said first switch.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

11/996,209Filed 14 Jul 2006

Priority

JP 2005-21330322 Jul 2005

Published

US 2009/0032682 A15 Feb 2009

Granted

27 Oct 2009

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

H10D 84/038
Using Group IV technology, e.g. silicon technology or silicon-carbide [SiC] technology: using silicon technology, e.g. SiGe
H03K 17/102
Modifications for increasing the maximum permissible switched voltage: in field-effect transistor switches
H03K 17/6871
The devices being field-effect transistors: the output circuit comprising more than one controlled field-effect transistor
H04N 25/60
Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof: noise processing, e.g. detecting, correcting, reducing or removing noise

Semiconductor device, module, and electronic device including a conversion circuit having a second switch rendered conductive together with a first switch

Life of this patent

Semiconductor device, module, and electronic device including a conversion circuit having a second switch rendered conductive together with a first switch

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims18