Transistor devices operating with switching voltages higher than a nominal voltage of the transistor
US9191001B2 · kind B2 · utility
1Cited by
5References
21Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 20, 2013 |
| Grant date | Nov 17, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 20, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K19/20
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A voltage selector circuit may be coupled to transistors to protect one or more inputs of the transistor from exceeding a safe operating range. In one example, a cross-coupled pair of transistors may be coupled to a gate of a transistor to select between a first voltage and a cascoded voltage that is a safe bias voltage. Thus, the transistor may be protected from unsafe gate-to-source voltages. The voltage selector may be used to build circuits, such as invertors, level shifter, NAND gates, and NOR gates, that function with power supply voltages that may exceed the safe operating range of the transistors.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.