High voltage drive circuit employing capacitive signal coupling and associated devices and methods

A method of making a high voltage drive circuit, comprising:

• providing at least one drive electrode comprising a drive input connected to a low voltage portion of the circuit, the drive electrode being formed of a first electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture;
• providing at least one sense electrode comprising a sense output connected to a high voltage portion of the circuit, the sense electrode being formed of a second electrically conductive metal, metal alloy or metal mixture;
• providing an electrically conductive ground plane substrate spaced apart from the drive and sense electrodes by an electrically insulative layer;
• providing a drive circuit forming a portion of the low voltage portion and configured to receive an input signal provided to the high voltage drive circuit, the drive circuit being operably coupled to the drive input and configured to transmit a drive signal based on the input signal therethrough, and
• providing a receive circuit forming a portion of the high voltage portion and operably coupled to the sense output, the receiver circuit being configured to receive the drive signal transmitted between the sense and drive electrodes and to provide at least one gate drive output signal having power and amplitude sufficient to drive an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT);
• wherein the drive and sense electrodes are substantially disposed in a single plane and are operably configured and associated in respect of one another to effect the transfer of drive signals therebetween by capacitive means, the gate drive circuit is a non-silicon-on-insulator CMOS integrated circuit, and high voltage isolation between the low and high voltage portions of the circuit is provided by the drive and sense electrodes.