Low offset vertical hall device and current spinning method
First Claim
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1. A vertical Hall-effect device, comprising:
- a conductive tub having a first conductivity type and disposed in a semiconductor substrate;
an isolation structure arranged around a perimeter of the tub to electrically isolate the tub from other semiconductor devices that are outside the perimeter;
a plurality of contact pairs having respective first and second contacts in the tub; and
a controller configured to, in a first operating phase, concurrently control a first potential at the first contact of a first contact pair, control a second potential at the first contact of a second contact pair, and control a third potential at the first contact of a third contact pair;
the controller further configured to measure a Hall effect current at the second contact of the first, second, or third contact pair;
while the first, second, and third potentials are present.
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Abstract
One embodiment of the present invention relates to a vertical Hall-effect device. The device includes at least two supply terminals arranged to supply electrical energy to the first Hall-effect region; and at least one Hall signal terminal arranged to provide a first Hall signal from the first Hall-effect region. The first Hall signal is indicative of a magnetic field which is parallel to the surface of the semiconductor substrate and which acts on the first Hall-effect region. One or more of the at least two supply terminals or one or more of the at least one Hall signal terminal comprises a force contact and a sense contact.
11 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A vertical Hall-effect device, comprising:
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a conductive tub having a first conductivity type and disposed in a semiconductor substrate; an isolation structure arranged around a perimeter of the tub to electrically isolate the tub from other semiconductor devices that are outside the perimeter; a plurality of contact pairs having respective first and second contacts in the tub; and a controller configured to, in a first operating phase, concurrently control a first potential at the first contact of a first contact pair, control a second potential at the first contact of a second contact pair, and control a third potential at the first contact of a third contact pair; the controller further configured to measure a Hall effect current at the second contact of the first, second, or third contact pair;
while the first, second, and third potentials are present. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A vertical Hall-effect device, comprising:
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a first tub having a first conductivity type and disposed in a semiconductor substrate; a first plurality of contact pairs having respective first and second contacts in the first tub; a second tub having the first conductivity type and disposed in the semiconductor substrate; a second plurality of contact pairs having respective third and fourth contacts in the second tub; and an electrical connection coupling a first contact in the first tub with a third or fourth contact in the second tub; and a controller configured to, in a first operating phase, concurrently deliver a first fixed voltage potential to a first contact of a first contact pair and concurrently deliver a second fixed voltage potential to a first contact of a second contact pair, the controller further configured to measure a Hall effect current at a second contact while the first and second fixed voltage potentials are present. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A vertical Hall-effect device, comprising:
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a first tub having a first conductivity type and disposed in a semiconductor substrate; a first plurality of contact pairs having respective first and second contacts in the first tub; a second tub having the first conductivity type and disposed in the semiconductor substrate; a second plurality of contact pairs having respective third and fourth contacts in the second tub; an electrical connection coupling a first coupled contact in the first tub with a second coupled contact in the second tub; and at least one feedback circuit configured to control a potential at first contacts of the contact pairs in the first tub and at third contacts of the contact pairs in the second tub, respectively, by providing one or more feedback signals to second contacts of the contact pairs in the first tub and to fourth contacts of the contact pairs in the second tub.
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Specification