US 8,542,056 B2Granted

High voltage transmission switch, namely for ultrasound applications

AssigneeSTMicroelectronics S.r.l.

InventorsSandro Rossi, Giulio Ricotti

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Abstract

A high voltage transmission switch comprises a switching block coupled between a connection terminal to a load and a low voltage output terminal and comprising at least a first switching transistor and a second switching transistor coupled between the connection terminal and the low voltage output terminal and interconnected at a first circuit node; and a driving circuit coupled between a positive low voltage supply reference and a negative high voltage supply reference and having an output terminal connected to the switching block. The driving circuit including at least a first driving transistor coupled between the positive low voltage supply reference and the output terminal and a second driving transistor coupled between the output terminal and the negative high voltage supply reference.

Claims30

Dependent claims

A high voltage transmission switch comprising:

a high voltage output terminal configured to be coupled to a load;
a low voltage output terminal;
a first supply terminal configured to be supplied with a positive voltage supply reference;
a second supply terminal configured to be supplied with a negative voltage supply reference;
a switching block electrically coupled between the high voltage output terminal and the low voltage output terminal and including a first switching transistor and a second switching transistor electrically coupled between the high voltage output terminal and the low voltage output terminal and interconnected at a first circuit node, the first switching transistor being electrically coupled between the high voltage output terminal and the first circuit node, the second switching transistor being electrically coupled between the first circuit node and the low voltage output terminal;
and
a driving circuit electrically coupled between the first and second supply terminals, the driving circuit including:
a first output terminal electrically coupled to the switching block;
a first driving transistor electrically coupled between the first supply terminal and the first output terminal of the driving circuit;
and
a second driving transistor electrically coupled between the first output terminal of the driving circuit and the second supply terminal.

8 more elements

A transmission channel comprising:

an input terminal configured to receive a pulse signal;
a high voltage output terminal configured to be coupled to an ultrasound transducer;
a low voltage output terminal configured to be coupled to a low noise amplifier;
a first supply terminal configured to be supplied with a positive voltage supply reference;
a second supply terminal configured to be supplied with a negative voltage supply reference;
a transmission circuit positioned between the input terminal and the high voltage output terminal;
and
a high voltage transmission switch coupled between the high voltage output terminal and the low voltage output terminal, the high voltage transmission switch including:
a switching block coupled between the high voltage output terminal and the low voltage output terminal and including a first switching transistor and a second switching transistor coupled between the high voltage output terminal and the low voltage output terminal and interconnected at a first circuit node;
and
a driving circuit coupled between the first and second supply terminals, the driving circuit including:
a first output terminal coupled to the switching block,
a first driving transistor coupled between the first supply terminal and the output terminal of the driving circuit;
and
a second driving transistor coupled between the output terminal of the driving circuit and the second supply terminal.

12 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/979,149Filed 27 Dec 2010
Published: US 2012/0161819 A128 Jun 2012
Granted: 24 Sep 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

H03K 17/6874
The output circuit comprising more than one controlled field-effect transistor: in a symmetrical configuration
B06B 1/0215
Driving circuits: for generating pulses, e.g. bursts of oscillations, envelopes
B06B 1/06
Making use of electrical energy: operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction
H03K
Pulse technique

Family

US 2012/0161819 A1Pre-grant publication · published 28 Jun 2012
US 8,542,056 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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