Gate Driver Circuitry for Power Transistors

• US 20200135536A1
• Filed: 11/01/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria Ag (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria Ag (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Hoyerby, Mikkel, Nielsen, Allan Nogueras
• Granted Patent: US 10,854,500 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/761 PN junctions
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/823892 with a particular manufacturing method of the wells or tubs, e.g. twin tubs, high energy well implants, buried implanted layers for lateral isolation [BILLI]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/092 complementary MIS field-effect transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/08 Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/2173 of the bridge type
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0063 High side switches, i.e. the higher potential [DC] or life wire [AC] being directly connected to the switch and not via the load
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0081 Power supply means, e.g. to the switch driver

Abstract

The present invention relates in a first aspect to a regulated high side gate driver circuit for power transistors. The regulated high side gate driver circuit comprises a gate driver powered by a floating voltage regulator which comprises a linear regulating device.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A regulated high side gate driver circuit for power transistors, comprising:

a gate driver comprising a high side positive supply voltage port and a high side negative supply voltage port; and

a floating voltage regulator comprising;

a positive regulator input, connectable to a high side DC voltage supply;

a regulated DC voltage output;

a negative regulator input;

a DC reference voltage generator configured to generate a DC reference voltage; and

a regulation capacitor connected between positive and negative terminals of the DC reference voltage generator, and configured to suppress noise and ripple within the generated DC reference voltage,

wherein the negative regulator input is connected to the high side negative supply voltage port and the regulated DC voltage output is connected to the high side positive supply voltage port of the gate driver.

17. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 16, wherein the high side DC voltage supply has a voltage that is higher than a positive DC voltage rail coupled to a power transistor that is driven by the regulated high side gate driver circuit.

18. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 16, wherein the floating voltage regulator comprises a linear regulating device connected to the regulated DC voltage output and configured to suppress noise and ripple voltage on the high side DC voltage supply in the regulated DC voltage output.

19. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 18, wherein the floating voltage regulator comprises an open-loop topology without a voltage or current regulation feedback loop from the regulated DC voltage output back to a control terminal of the linear regulating device.

20. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 19, wherein the linear regulating device comprises:

a pass transistor connected between the positive regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output, wherein a control terminal of the pass transistor is connected to the DC reference voltage generated by the DC reference voltage generator.

21. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 18, wherein the linear regulating device comprises:

a pass transistor connected between the positive regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output, wherein a control terminal of the pass transistor is connected to the DC reference voltage generated by the DC reference voltage generator.

22. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 21, wherein the pass transistor comprises a MOSFET or bipolar transistor with a source or emitter, respectively, connected to the regulated DC voltage output, and a drain or collector terminal, respectively, connected to the positive regulator input.

23. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 21,

wherein the linear regulating device comprises a class AB output stage having a positive power supply terminal connected to the positive regulator input and a negative power supply terminal connected to the negative regulator input;

and

wherein a control terminal of the class AB output stage is connected to the DC reference voltage and an output of the class AB output stage is coupled to the regulated DC voltage output to source current to, and sink current from, a load at the regulated DC voltage output.

24. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 21, wherein the linear regulating device comprises a class AB output stage having a positive power supply terminal connected to the positive regulator input and a negative power supply terminal connected to the negative regulator input;

and

wherein a control terminal of the class AB output stage is connected to the DC reference voltage and an output of the class AB output stage is coupled to the regulated DC voltage output to source current to, and sink current from, a load at the regulated DC voltage output.

25. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 18,

wherein the linear regulating device comprises a class AB output stage having a positive power supply terminal connected to the positive regulator input and a negative power supply terminal connected to the negative regulator input;

and

wherein a control terminal of the class AB output stage is connected to the DC reference voltage and an output of the class AB output stage is coupled to the regulated DC voltage output to source current to, and sink current from, a load at the regulated DC voltage output.

26. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 25, wherein the class AB output stage comprises:

a first output transistor connected between the positive regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output,

a second output transistor connected between the negative regulator input and the regulated DC voltage output; and

a bias voltage circuit connected between respective control terminals of the first and second output transistors to set a predetermined DC bias current therein.

27. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 16, wherein the DC reference voltage generator comprises a reversely biased Zener diode.

28. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 16, wherein the DC reference voltage generator comprises a shunt regulator circuit.

29. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 28, wherein the shunt regulator circuit comprises:

a shunt transistor connected between the DC reference voltage and the negative regulator input,

an error amplifier comprising an output, a first input and a second input where the output is connected to a control terminal of the shunt transistor,

a voltage divider connected to the DC reference voltage and configured to supply a shunt voltage proportional to the DC reference voltage to the first input of the error amplifier,

a second DC voltage reference connected to the second input of the error amplifier.

30. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 16, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate comprising a first polarity semiconductor material in which a first well diffusion is formed,

the first well diffusion comprising a second polarity semiconductor material and having a peripheral outer wall abutted to the semiconductor substrate,

a second well diffusion comprising first polarity semiconductor material arranged inside the first well diffusion such that an outer peripheral wall of the second well diffusion is abutted to an inner peripheral wall of the first well diffusion; and

the gate driver being arranged in the second well diffusion;

an electrical connection between each of the first and second well diffusions and the high side negative supply voltage port of the gate driver.

31. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 16, wherein the regulation capacitor comprises a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor.

32. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 31, wherein the MIM capacitor has a capacitance between 1 pF and 100 pF or between 10 pF and 50 pF.

33. The regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 31, wherein the floating voltage regulator comprises a linear regulating device connected to the regulated DC voltage output and configured to suppress noise and ripple voltage on the high side DC voltage supply in the regulated DC voltage output, and wherein the MIM capacitor is integrated in a same semiconductor die as the linear regulating device and the DC reference voltage generator.

34. An integrated semiconductor substrate comprising:

the regulated high side gate driver circuit of claim 31,

wherein integrated circuit components of the gate driver and integrated circuit components of the floating voltage regulator, except for the regulation capacitor, are integrated in a first set of layers of the semiconductor substrate, and

wherein the MIM capacitor is integrated in a second set of layers of the semiconductor substrate arranged above the first set of layers such that the MIM capacitor at least partly overlays the integrated circuit components of the gate driver and the floating voltage regulator.