Protective device electronic semiconductor component
US4355344A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 25, 1980 |
| Grant date | Oct 19, 1982 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 25, 2000 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
To protect a discrete electronic component such as a bipolar transistor or a field-effect transistor against destructive current surges, one or two ancillary transistors are formed in the same semiconductor body which has a major portion thereof overlain by an output electrode constituting a variable-voltage terminal connected to a load. This major portion, acting as the collector of the bipolar transistor (or of two such transistors in a Darlington configuration) or as the drain of the FET to be protected, also forms the collector of each ancillary transistor whose emitter is grounded through a constant-current generator or through a resistor. The emitter potential of a single ancillary transistor, or the potential difference of the emitters of two such transistors of mutually different current densities, varies as a function of temperature and is compared with a reference voltage to apply, in the event of an overload, an inhibiting signal to a driver stage for blocking or limiting the conduction of the protected component.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.