Regenerative building block and diode bridge rectifier and methods
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A semiconductor device operable as a half bridge, the semiconductor device comprising:
- a first metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) component comprising a first gate region, a first source region, a first drain region, and a first probe region, wherein the first MOS component is arranged such that, in response to the first MOS component being reverse-biased between the first source region and the first drain region, the first probe region produces a first signal indicating the reverse-biased state;
a second MOS component comprising a second gate region, a second source region, a second drain region, and a second probe region, wherein the second MOS component is arranged such that, in response to the second MOS component being reverse-biased between the second source region and the second drain region, the second probe region produces a second signal indicating the reverse-biased state;
a first drain contact operatively coupled to the first drain region;
a second drain contact operatively coupled to the second drain region; and
a first source contact operatively coupled to the first source region and the second source region,wherein the semiconductor device is arranged such that a conductivity of the second MOS component is controlled based at least in part on the first signal and a conductivity of the first MOS component is controlled based at least in part on the second signal.
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Abstract
A rectifier building block has four electrodes: source, drain, gate and probe. The main current flows between the source and drain electrodes. The gate voltage controls the conductivity of a narrow channel under a MOS gate and can switch the RBB between OFF and ON states. Used in pairs, the RBB can be configured as a three terminal half-bridge rectifier which exhibits better than ideal diode performance, similar to synchronous rectifiers but without the need for control circuits. N-type and P-type pairs can be configured as a full bridge rectifier. Other combinations are possible to create a variety of devices.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A semiconductor device operable as a half bridge, the semiconductor device comprising:
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a first metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) component comprising a first gate region, a first source region, a first drain region, and a first probe region, wherein the first MOS component is arranged such that, in response to the first MOS component being reverse-biased between the first source region and the first drain region, the first probe region produces a first signal indicating the reverse-biased state; a second MOS component comprising a second gate region, a second source region, a second drain region, and a second probe region, wherein the second MOS component is arranged such that, in response to the second MOS component being reverse-biased between the second source region and the second drain region, the second probe region produces a second signal indicating the reverse-biased state; a first drain contact operatively coupled to the first drain region; a second drain contact operatively coupled to the second drain region; and a first source contact operatively coupled to the first source region and the second source region, wherein the semiconductor device is arranged such that a conductivity of the second MOS component is controlled based at least in part on the first signal and a conductivity of the first MOS component is controlled based at least in part on the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) device comprising:
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a gate region; an opening formed in the gate region; a probe region formed in the opening; a gate electrode coupled to the gate region; and a probe electrode coupled to the probe region, wherein the probe electrode is different from the gate electrode, wherein the MOS device is arranged such that, during operation, in response to the MOS device being reverse-biased between a source region and a drain region of the MOS device, the probe electrode outputs a signal indicating the reverse-biased state. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A semiconductor device comprising:
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a first metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) component comprising a first gate region, a first source region, a first drain region, and a first probe region; and a second MOS component comprising a second gate region, a second source region, a second drain region, and a second probe region; wherein a first voltage level of the first gate region follows a second voltage level of the second probe region and a third voltage level of the second gate region follows a fourth voltage level of the first probe region, and wherein the second voltage level of the second probe region is set based on whether relative voltage values of the second drain region and the second source region make the second MOS component conductive and the fourth voltage level of the first probe region is set based on whether relative voltage values of the first drain region and the first second region make the first MOS component conductive. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A semiconductor device comprising:
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a first metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) component comprising a first gate region, a first source region, a first drain region, and a first probe region; and a second MOS component comprising a second gate region, a second source region, a second drain region, and a second probe region; wherein the first probe region is arranged to control a conductivity of the second MOS component based on whether the first MOS component is reverse-biased and the second probe region is arranged to control a conductivity of the first MOS component based on whether the second MOS component is reverse-biased. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification