Method and apparatus for protection of an anti-fuse element in a high-voltage integrated circuit
Granted: March 22, 2012
Application Number:
20120068761
A soft clamp semiconductor device for preventing inadvertent programming of an unselected anti-fuse (AF) element comprises a MOSFET which includes a first well region disposed in a substrate. Source and drain regions are disposed in the first well region, the drain region being electrically coupled to the first capacitive plate of the AF element and the source region being electrically coupled to a second capacitive plate of the AF element. An insulated gate is disposed over a channel…
COMPACT DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER
Granted: March 22, 2012
Application Number:
20120068869
An example digital-to-analog converter includes a reference scaling circuit receiving a first reference current and generating a second reference current. A first plurality of current sources is coupled to a summing node with a current of a first one of the first plurality of current sources proportional to the first reference current. A current of a second one of the first plurality of current sources is substantially equal to twice the current of the first one of the first plurality of…
VTS insulated gate bipolar transistor
Granted: March 15, 2012
Application Number:
20120061720
In one embodiment, a power transistor device comprises a substrate that forms a PN junction with an overlying buffer layer. The power transistor device further includes a first region, a drift region that adjoins a top surface of the buffer layer, and a body region. The body region separates the first region from the drift region. First and second dielectric regions respectively adjoin opposing lateral sidewall portions of the drift region. The dielectric regions extend in a vertical…
Checkerboarded high-voltage vertical transistor layout
Granted: March 15, 2012
Application Number:
20120061755
In one embodiment, a transistor fabricated on a semiconductor die includes a first section of transistor segments disposed in a first area of the semiconductor die, and a second section of transistor segments disposed in a second area of the semiconductor die adjacent the first area. Each of the transistor segments in the first and second sections includes a pillar of a semiconductor material that extends in a vertical direction. First and second dielectric regions are disposed on…
CONTROL ARRANGEMENT FOR A RESONANT MODE POWER CONVERTER
Granted: March 8, 2012
Application Number:
20120057372
A resonant mode power converter is controlled with a control unit including a current limiting circuit coupled to receive a first current representative of a power converter output and a second current generated in response to a reference voltage. The current limiting circuit is coupled to limit the first current in response to the second current. An oscillator is coupled to receive the first current to generate a control signal having a control frequency in response to the first…
Method of fabricating a deep trench Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor
Granted: March 8, 2012
Application Number:
20120058607
In one embodiment, a method comprises forming an epitaxial layer over a substrate of an opposite conductivity type, the epitaxial layer being separated by a buffer layer having a doping concentration that is substantially constant in a vertical direction down to the buffer layer. A pair of spaced-apart trenches is formed in the epitaxial layer from a top surface of the epitaxial layer down at least into the buffer layer. A dielectric material is formed in the trenches over the first and…
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR POWER CONVERTER FAULT CONDITION DETECTION
Granted: March 1, 2012
Application Number:
20120051098
An example controller includes a feedback circuit coupled to provide feedback information representative of an output of the power converter during at least a portion of an OFF time of a power switch. A sense input receives a sense signal that is representative of a reflected voltage representative of an input voltage of the power converter during at least a portion of an ON time of the power switch. A fault detector is to be coupled to detect a fault condition in response to the…
Second contact schottky metal layer to improve GaN schottky diode performance
Granted: February 23, 2012
Application Number:
20120043551
A Schottky diode includes a first nitride-based semiconductor layer disposed atop a substrate. A second nitride-based semiconductor layer is disposed atop a portion of the first nitride-based semiconductor layer. The second layer has a doping concentration lower than that of the first layer. A first Schottky contact metal layer having a first metal work function is disposed on a top planar surface of the second layer, forming a first Schottky junction. A second Schottky contact metal…
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SENSING MULTIPLE VOLTAGE VALUES FROM A SINGLE TERMINAL OF A POWER CONVERTER CONTROLLER
Granted: February 16, 2012
Application Number:
20120039097
An example controller for a power converter includes a switching control coupled to switch a power switch of the power converter to control a transfer of energy from an input of the power converter to an output of the power converter. A sensor is coupled to sample a single terminal of the controller during a portion of an off time of the power switch to output a signal representative of an output voltage of the power converter. The sensor is further coupled to sample the single terminal…
POWER CONVERTER HAVING A FEEDBACK CIRCUIT FOR CONSTANT LOADS
Granted: February 9, 2012
Application Number:
20120032610
A power converter having a feedback circuit for constant loads includes an input, a switch, an input voltage sense circuit, a feedback circuit, and a controller. The input is to be coupled to receive an input voltage and the switch is coupled to the input. The input voltage sense circuit is coupled to the input to generate an input voltage sense signal representative of the input voltage. The feedback circuit is coupled to an output of the power converter, where the output is…
ULTRA LOW STANDBY CONSUMPTION IN A HIGH POWER POWER CONVERTER
Granted: February 2, 2012
Application Number:
20120026759
A power converter with low power consumption during a standby operating condition. An example power controller includes a main converter coupled to a dc input of the power converter to control a transfer of energy from the dc input of the power converter to a main output of the power converter. A standby converter is also included and is coupled to the dc input of the power converter to control a transfer of energy from the dc input of the power converter to a standby output of the power…
Real-Time, multi-tier load test results aggregation
Granted: January 19, 2012
Application Number:
20120017156
A method for real-time analysis of results from a load test performed on a target website includes periodically computing first-level aggregated test results within each of a plurality of load server instances that generate a load on the target website. The first-level aggregated test results are computed from data received by each of the load server instances from the target website every first time interval. The first-level aggregated test results are then periodically sent from each…
System and method for provisioning and running a cross-cloud test grid
Granted: January 19, 2012
Application Number:
20120017112
An automated method for provisioning a grid used to run a load test on a target website includes sending one or more requests in a multi-threaded manner to at least one cloud provider, the one or more requests for an allocation of N load server instances and M result server instances which comprise the grid. Requests received back from the cloud provider are also handled in a multi-threaded manner; any errors occurring during the allocation being corrected automatically. The N load…
Method of fabricating a high-voltage transistor with an extended drain structure
Granted: January 19, 2012
Application Number:
20120015491
A method for fabricating a high-voltage transistor with an extended drain region includes forming in a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type, first and second trenches that define a mesa having respective first and second sidewalls; then partially filling each of the trenches with a dielectric material that covers the first and second sidewalls. The remaining portions of the trenches are then filled with a conductive material to form first and second field plates. Source…
RESET VOLTAGE CIRCUIT FOR A FORWARD POWER CONVERTER
Granted: January 19, 2012
Application Number:
20120014141
A reset voltage circuit for a forward power converter includes a reset capacitor and a memory capacitor. The reset capacitor is to be coupled to recycle energy from a primary winding of a transformer to an input bulk capacitor during a resetting of the transformer. The memory capacitor is to be coupled to store a first voltage equal to an input voltage of the power converter when the input voltage is at a steady-state value. The memory capacitor is further to set a voltage across the…
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE MAXIMUM OUPUT POWER OF A POWER CONVERTER
Granted: January 12, 2012
Application Number:
20120007575
An example controller for a power converter includes an input voltage sensor, a current sensor, an oscillator, a timing and multiplier circuit, and a drive signal generator. The input voltage sensor receives an input signal representative of an input voltage and the current sensor senses a current in a power switch. The oscillator generates a signal having a switching frequency and the timing and multiplier circuit adjusts the switching frequency of the signal to be proportional to a…
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTEGRATED CABLE DROP COMPENSATION OF A POWER CONVERTER
Granted: January 5, 2012
Application Number:
20120002451
An integrated circuit controller for a power converter to be coupled to a distribution network is disclosed. An example integrated circuit controller according to aspects of the present invention includes a switching control circuit that outputs a drive signal to control switching of a switch to regulate an output of the power converter. The integrated circuit controller also includes a cable drop compensator that outputs a compensated reference voltage signal to the switching control…
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ON/OFF CONTROL OF A POWER CONVERTER
Granted: January 5, 2012
Application Number:
20120002448
A power converter is disclosed. An example power converter includes an energy transfer element coupled between a power converter input and a power converter output. A power switch is coupled to the energy transfer element and the power converter input. A feedback sampling circuit is coupled to receive a feedback signal representative of the power converter output to generate feedback signal samples during switching cycles. A switch conduction scheduling circuit is coupled to determine…
DIMMER-DISABLED LED DRIVER
Granted: January 5, 2012
Application Number:
20120001561
A controller for use in a light emitting diode (LED) driver is disclosed. An example controller includes an input circuit coupled to receive an ac input signal from an ac source. A dimmer disabler circuit is included and is coupled to be responsive to the input circuit to detect an absence of a portion of an ac half cycle the ac input signal for one or more consecutive ac half cycles from the ac input signal. A regulator circuit is included and is coupled to control a switching of a…
POWER CONVERTER WITH COMPENSATION CIRCUIT FOR ADJUSTING OUTPUT CURRENT PROVIDED TO A CONSTANT LOAD
Granted: December 29, 2011
Application Number:
20110316446
A power converter for constant loads includes an energy transfer element, a switch, a controller, and a compensation circuit. The energy transfer element is coupled to receive a rectified voltage having a non-blocked portion and a blocked portion, where an amount of the blocked portion corresponds to a phase angle. The controller is coupled to control switching of the switch to regulate an output current of the power converter in response to a plurality of signals. The plurality of…
