Integrated circuits and power supplies

• US 8,077,437 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2005
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tesla Inc.
• Original Assignee: Enecsys Limited
• Inventors: Mumtaz, Asim, Chisenga, Lesley
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackson, Stephen W
• Application Number:
  US11/718,875
• Publication Number:
  US 20080266922A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,227 Days
• Field of Search: 361/18
• US Class Current: 361/18
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/84 the substrate being other than a semiconductor body, e.g. being an insulating body
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1203 the substrate comprising an insulating body on a semiconductor body, e.g. SOI three-dimensional layout H01L27/0688
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/0878 Impurity concentration or distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7394 on an insulating layer or substrate, e.g. thin film device or device isolated from the bulk substrate H01L29/7398 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7824 with a substrate comprising an insulating layer, e.g. SOI-LDMOS transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7825 with trench gate electrode trench gate electrodes per se H01L29/4236
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/33515 with digital control
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/5381 Parallel type
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/10 Photovoltaic [PV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers

Abstract

We describe a semiconductor-on-insulator integrated circuit die comprising a substrate bearing a power conditioning circuit, the power conditioning circuit comprising at least two power devices, a lateral power device and a vertical power device. The power conditioning circuit comprises: a DC input to receive DC power, an AC output for connection to AC mains; a DC-to-DC converter having an input coupled to said DC input; a DC-to-AC converter having a DC input and an AC output to convert DC power to AC power for mains output; and a DC voltage regulator coupled between the output of said DC-to-DC converter and the input of said DC-to-AC converter to regulate said DC voltage input to said DC-to-AC converter. The regulator is configured to control an AC output current of said circuit by controlling said DC voltage input to the DC-to-AC converter.

Claims

1. A semiconductor-on-insulator integrated circuit die comprising a substrate bearing a power conditioning circuit, the power conditioning circuit comprising at least two power devices, one of said power devices being a lateral power device, another of said power devices being a vertical power device.

2. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 1 wherein said lateral power device is formed on an upper side of said substrate, and wherein said vertical device includes a conductive region on an underside of said lateral device.

3. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 2 wherein said conductive region comprises a main terminal region of said vertical device.

4. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 3 wherein said main terminal region extends the substantially the length of said substrate in at least one lateral dimension.

5. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vertical device includes a main terminal structure configured to at least partially shield said lateral device.

6. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 5 wherein said main terminal structure comprises an emitter structure.

7. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vertical device is a trench device, and wherein said trench device is configured to provide at least partial trench isolation for said lateral device.

8. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 1 wherein said power conditioning circuit comprises a DC-to-DC converter coupled to a DC-to-AC converter, wherein said vertical device comprises part of said DC-to-DC converter, and wherein said lateral device comprises part of said DC-to-AC converter.

9. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 8 wherein said vertical device comprises a power switching device and wherein said lateral device comprises part of a bridge circuit.

10. An integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of said lateral devices.

11. A single chip power conditioning circuit including an integrated circuit die as claimed in claim 1 wherein said power conditioning circuit includes low-voltage control circuitry integrated on said substrate.

12. A power conditioning circuit for providing power from a DC supply to an alternating current mains power supply line, the circuit comprising:

a DC input to receive DC power from said DC supply;

an AC output for connection to said AC mains power supply line;

a DC-to-DC converter having an input coupled to said DC input and having an output;

a DC-to-AC converter having a DC input and an AC output to convert DC power to AC power for output onto said power supply line; and

a DC voltage regulator coupled between the output of said DC-to-DC converter and the input of said DC-to-AC converter to regulate said DC voltage input to said DC-to-AC converter; and

wherein said regulator is configured to control an AC output current of said circuit by controlling said DC voltage input to said DC-to-AC converter.

13. A circuit as claimed in claim 12 further comprising a controller having a first input derived from said AC supply line and a second input derived from said DC voltage regulator output and a control output to said DC voltage regulator for regulating said DC voltage input to said DC-to-AC converter.

14. A circuit as claimed in claim 13 wherein said first input receives an AC voltage and said second input a DC voltage.

15. A circuit as claimed in claim 13 wherein said controller is configured to control a duty cycle of a power switch of said DC voltage regulator.

16. A circuit as claimed in claim 13 wherein said controller is configured to control an output voltage of said DC-to-AC converter to maintain a phase relationship between said output voltage of said DC-to-AC converter and a voltage of said AC mains power line.

17. A circuit as claimed in claim 13 including one or more reactive elements between said AC output of said DC-to-AC converter and a connection to said AC mains power line.

18. A power conditioning circuit as claimed in claim 12, the circuit further comprising:

a filter between said DC-to-AC converter AC output and said AC output; and

means to control an AC mains output current from said circuit responsive to a difference between said DC-to-AC converter AC output and said mains power supply line AC voltage.

19. A power conditioning circuit for controlling an AC output current from a power conditioning circuit providing power from an input DC supply to an AC mains power supply line, the circuit comprising

means for converting said input DC supply from a first DC voltage to a second DC voltage;

means for regulating said second DC voltage to control an AC output current by regulating said second DC voltage; and

means for converting said regulated second DC voltage to an AC voltage for output to said AC mains power supply line.