Adaptive high-side gate drive for ringing mitigation in switching power converters
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsRida Shawky Assaad, Ming Sun, Jeffrey Morroni
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A power converter includes a high side device, a low side device connected to the high side device at a switch node, an inductor connected to the high side device and the low side device at the switch node, and a high side driver. The high side driver is configured to drive a gate of the high side device at a first current for a first period of time. In response to the first period of time ending, the high side driver is configured to step down the first current for a second period of time. In response to the second period of time ending, the high side driver is configured to drive the gate of the high side device at the first current.
Claims18
A power converter, comprising:
- a high side device;
- a low side device connected to the high side device at a switch node;
- an inductor connected to the high side device and the low side device at the switch node;
- and
- a high side driver configured to drive a gate of the high side device at a first current for a first period of time, in response to the first period of time ending, step down the first current for a second period of time, and in response to the second period of time ending, drive the gate of the high side device at the first current;
- wherein the high side driver includes:
- a weak driver configured to close a first switch in response to the first period of time beginning, the first switch coupled to the gate of the high side device;
- and
- a strong driver configured to close a second switch in response to the first period of time beginning, open the second switch in response to the first period of time ending, and close the second switch a second time in response to the second period of time ending.
A high side driver, comprising:
- a weak driver configured to close a first switch in response to a first period of time beginning, the first switch coupled to a gate of a high side device;
- and
- a strong driver configured to close a second switch in response to the first period of time beginning to drive the high side device at a first current, open the second switch in response to the first period of time ending to drive the high side device at a second current, and close the second switch a second time in response to a second period of time ending to drive the high side device at the first current;
- wherein the second switch is coupled to the gate of the high side device;
- and
- wherein the first current is greater than the second current.
A method for driving a high side device in a switching power converter to mitigate ringing in a switch node of the switching power converter, comprising:
- driving a gate of the high side device at a first current for a first period of time;
- in response to the first period of time ending, driving the gate of the high side device at a second current for a second period of time, the second current being less than the first current;
- and
- in response to the second period of time ending, driving the gate of the high side device at the first current;
- detecting, by a detection circuit, a rising voltage at the switch node;
- in response to the detection circuit detecting the rising voltage at the switch node after the second period of time ends, adding to a coarse delay unit count;
- and
- in response to the adding to the coarse delay unit count, increasing the second period of time for a subsequent switching cycle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.