Patent · US Expired

Monolithic transistor gate energy recovery system

US4873460A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
3References
3Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 16, 1988
Grant dateOct 10, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 16, 2008

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03K17/687
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Energy is recovered from an insulated gate semiconductor switch, such as a MOSFET, that is otherwise lost in the gate capacitance by producing a notch in the gate control voltage for an interval B following an interval A after initial application of a gate control voltage pulse for turning the switch on, and a notch for an interval C following termination of the gate control voltage pulse followed by interval D during which the switch is turned on again, where each interval is a period .DELTA.T given by ##EQU1## L.sub.s is the inductance (discrete and/or parasitic) in series with the gate electrode of the insulated gate semiconductor switch, and C.sub.in is the capacitance of that switch between its gate and source electrodes. The interval .DELTA.T may be provided directly by timing in a pulse forming circuit for the gate control voltage applied, or adaptively by sensing the gate voltage v.sub.g and comparing it with fixed progressively higher voltages v.sub.1, v.sub.2 and v.sub.3, where v.sub.2 is intermediate v.sub.1 and v.sub.3 which correspond to the lower and upper levels of v.sub.g as the switch is turned off and on.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.