SEMICONDUCTOR CIRCUIT

• US 20080284482A1
• Filed: 05/16/2008
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Katsumi
• Application Number:
  US12/122,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20080284482A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 327/291
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48137 the bodies being arranged next to each other, e.g. on a common substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48227 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1305 Bipolar Junction Transistor [BJT]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13055 Insulated gate bipolar transistor [IGBT]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13062 Junction field-effect transistor [JFET]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13091 Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor [MOSFET]
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/538 in a push-pull configuration H02M7/5375 takes precedence ; with oscillating arrangements H02M7/53832, H02M7/53846
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/04123 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/08148 in composite switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/145 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/6871 the output circuit comprising more than one controlled field-effect transistor
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/6877 the control circuit comprising active elements different from those used in the output circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0036 Means reducing energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Abstract

A semiconductor circuit for an inverter device, comprising a pulse generator for generating a pulse signal upon receiving the input signal for controlling the high-voltage switching device of the inverter device, a driver circuit for driving the high-voltage switching device, and a signal transfer circuit for transferring the pulse signal generated by the pulse generator to the driver circuit, wherein a wide band-gap semiconductor device is used in the signal transfer circuit

Claims

1. A semiconductor circuit for driving an inverter device with a load connected at the potential at the intermediate point between the high-voltage switching device and the low-voltage switching device, comprising

a pulse generator for generating pulse signals upon receiving the input signals supplied thereto at the time instants which correspond to the turn-on and turn-off of the high-voltage switching device in the inverter device,

a driver circuit for driving the high-voltage switching device, and

a signal transfer circuit for transferring the pulse signals generated by the pulse generator to the driver circuit,

wherein a wide band-gap semiconductor device is used in the signal transfer circuit to transfer the pulse signals.

2. A semiconductor circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wide band-gap semiconductor device used in the signal transfer circuit may be selected from among a SiC device, a GaN device and a device made of diamond.

3. A semiconductor circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wide band-gap semiconductor device used in the signal transfer circuit is selected from among a MOSFET, a junction FET and an IGBT.

4. A semiconductor circuit as claimed in claim 1, further comprising

a metal substrate,

silicon chips provided on the metal substrate and having the driver circuits formed thereon, and

a wide band-gap semiconductor device mounted on the metal substrate and connected with the driver circuits through wire bonding.

5. A semiconductor circuit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the silicon chips and the wide band-gap semiconductor device are attached to the metal substrate by soldering with high melting-point solder.

6. A semiconductor circuit as claimed in claim 4, wherein plural wide band-gap semiconductor devices are mounted on the metal substrate, with the bonding wires connecting the wide band-gap semiconductor devices with the driver circuits having substantially the same lengths.

7. A semiconductor circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein a silicon chip is disposed on the metal substrate, and the wide band-gap semiconductor device is formed by disposing the driver circuits on the silicon chip and selectively forming a GaN layer on one portion of the surface of the silicon chip.