Patent · US Expired

Gate drive circuit with negative offset

US7170321B2 · kind B2 · utility

1Cited by
7References
15Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 26, 2005
Grant dateJan 30, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 8, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03K17/785
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A gate drive circuit capable of providing both positive and negative drive from a DC power supply is presented. The circuit includes an isolator stage, a driver stage, an optional tuning stage, an offset stage, a shaping stage, and a switching stage, each electrically coupled in the order described. The isolator stage provides electrical isolation from signal level circuitry. The driver stage boosts the power within the signal from the isolator stage. The tuning stage slows rising and falling edges along the signal from driver. The offset stage shifts the unipolar gate drive signal from the tuning stage into the negative voltage range. The shaping stage modifies the signal from the offset stage so as to ensure squared transitions. The switching stage enables voltage control. The described circuit is applicable to electronics utilizing a variety of voltage controlled switching devices.

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