Electronic circuit control element with tap element
Granted: December 17, 2013
Patent Number:
8611108
An example control element for use in a power supply includes a high-voltage transistor and a control circuit to control switching of the high-voltage transistor. The high-voltage transistor includes a drain region, source region, tap region, drift region, and tap drift region, all of a first conductivity type. The transistor also includes a body region of a second conductivity type. An insulated gate is included in the transistor such that when the insulated gate is biased a channel is…
Controller with punctuated switching control circuit
Granted: December 17, 2013
Patent Number:
8610409
An example controller for use in a power supply includes a zero crossing detection (ZCD) circuit, a threshold detection circuit, and a punctuated switching control circuit. The ZCD circuit generates a ZCD signal that pulses each zero-crossing of an ac input voltage. The threshold detection circuit receives and compares an output of the power supply with a threshold reference. The punctuated switching control circuit generates a switching signal to control a switch to regulate the output…
Method and apparatus for implementing an unregulated dormant mode with output reset in a power converter
Granted: December 3, 2013
Patent Number:
8599582
A control circuit includes a feedback circuit, a drive signal generator, an unregulated dormant mode and output reset control circuit, and a counter. The feedback circuit generates an enable signal and in response, the drive signal generator regulates the output of the power converter. The unregulated dormant mode and output reset control circuit powers down the drive signal generator such that the regulation is ceased when the energy requirement at the output has fallen below a…
Digital-to-analog converter to produce paired control signals in a power supply controller
Granted: December 3, 2013
Patent Number:
8599052
An controller for use in a power supply includes a variable oscillator and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The variable oscillator generates a switching signal having an on-time and a switching period to control a first switch to regulate an output of the power supply. The DAC provides the variable oscillator with a first analog signal and a second analog signal, where the on-time of the switching signal is responsive to the first analog signal and where the switching period is…
Epitaxial growth on low degree off-axis silicon carbide substrates and semiconductor devices made thereby
Granted: November 26, 2013
Patent Number:
8591651
A method of epitaxially growing a SiC layer on a single crystal SiC substrate is described. The method includes heating a single-crystal SiC substrate to a first temperature of at least 1400° C. in a chamber, introducing a carrier gas, a silicon containing gas and carbon containing gas into the chamber; and epitaxially growing a layer of SiC on a surface of the SiC substrate. The SiC substrate is heated to the first temperature at a rate of at least 30° C./minute. The surface of the…
DC converter with independently controlled outputs
Granted: November 26, 2013
Patent Number:
8593834
A controller for use in a power supply includes a clock coupled to output a clock signal. The clock signal determines a frequency. A modulator is coupled to receive the clock signal. The clock signal is divided into N cycles within the power supply. N is an integer greater than one. The modulator is coupled to receive N feedback signals from N output circuits during each respective one of the N cycles to control conduction times of a primary switch during each respective one of the N…
Apparatus and method for sensing of isolated output
Granted: November 26, 2013
Patent Number:
8593832
A power converter includes a current controller coupled to an energy transfer element to selectively enable a first, second or third current in the current controller. The first current is substantially zero, the second current is greater than the third current, and the third current is greater than the first current. The third current only partially discharges a capacitance coupled to the energy transfer element and the current controller. A control circuit is to be coupled to the…
Dimming control for a switching power supply
Granted: November 26, 2013
Patent Number:
8593129
A switching power supply includes a switch and a controller for dimming control of the switching power supply. The controller includes a phase angle measurement block and a drive logic block. The phase angle measurement block is coupled to receive an input sense signal. The phase angle measurement block generates a phase angle signal representative of a phase angle of an input voltage of the power supply in response to the input sense signal. The drive logic block is coupled to control…
Method and apparatus to reduce line current harmonics from a power supply
Granted: November 26, 2013
Patent Number:
8593127
A power converter includes a power switch, an energy storage element, a driver, a first calculator, and a second calculator. The first calculator coupled to determine an end of an on time of a power switch of the power converter by integrating an input current to output an on time signal representative of the end of the on time of the power switch. The second calculator coupled to determine an end of an off time of the power switch by integrating a difference between an input voltage and…
Power converter with compensation circuit for adjusting output current provided to a constant load
Granted: November 26, 2013
Patent Number:
8593069
A method for use in a power converter includes generating a peak input voltage signal that is representative of a peak value of the input voltage for phase angles less than a phase angle threshold and is representative of a value that is less than the peak value of the input voltage for phase angles greater than the phase angle threshold. The method also includes controlling a switching of a switch to regulate an output current of the power converter in response to the peak input voltage…
Method and apparatus for on/off control of a power converter
Granted: November 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8587969
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…
Method and apparatus to limit output power in a switching power supply
Granted: November 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8587284
A power supply includes an energy transfer element, a switch, and a controller. The controller includes a modulator, a drive signal generator, a comparator, and a variable current limit generator. The modulator generates an enable signal having logic states responsive to a feedback signal. The drive signal generator either enables or skips enabling a switch of the power supply during a switching period in response to the logic state of the enable signal. The comparator asserts an over…
Power factor correction converter control offset
Granted: November 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8587280
A power supply arrangement includes a PFC converter, an LLC converter, a control unit and an offset unit. The control unit generates a control signal to control a duty cycle of a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal to control the PFC converter. The control unit includes a PWM converter that generates the PWM signal to which a switching circuit is responsive to switch a current representing an input current of the PFC converter. An amplifier receives a current sense signal and provides…
Vertical junction field effect transistors and bipolar junction transistors
Granted: November 19, 2013
Patent Number:
8587024
Methods of making semiconductor devices such as vertical junction field effect transistors (VJFETs) or bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) are described. The methods do not require ion implantation. The VJFET device has an epitaxially regrown n-type channel layer and an epitaxially regrown p-type gate layer as well as an epitaxially grown buried gate layer. Devices made by the methods are also described.
Method and apparatus for a control circuit responsive to an impedance coupled to a control circuit terminal
Granted: November 12, 2013
Patent Number:
8582327
A method, in a power supply controller, of responding to an increase in current through a terminal of the power supply controller, is disclosed. The method includes regulating the terminal to a first voltage level and sensing a magnitude of a first current through the terminal while the controller is regulating the terminal to the first voltage level. The method also includes providing an initial response by the power supply controller in response to the magnitude of the first current…
Flyback converter with forward converter reset clamp
Granted: November 12, 2013
Patent Number:
8582325
A power supply includes a forward converter having a first transformer coupled to an input of the power supply and to a first voltage output. The power supply also includes a separate flyback converter having a second transformer that is coupled to the input and to a second voltage output. A clamp reset circuit is coupled to the first transformer and to the second transformer. The clamp reset circuit includes a capacitor and a voltage limiting element. The voltage limiting element is…
Control arrangement for a resonant mode power converter
Granted: November 12, 2013
Patent Number:
8582319
A resonant mode converter includes a PFC power converter having an input coupled to receive an input voltage. An LLC power converter is cascaded with the PFC power converter. The LLC power converter includes a transformer coupled to generate an output of the resonant mode converter. A feedback circuit is coupled to generate a first current representative of the output of the resonant mode converter. A control unit includes a current limiting circuit coupled to receive the first current…
Low-cost transformer assembly
Granted: October 29, 2013
Patent Number:
8570768
A transformer assembly is disclosed. An example circuit board assembly includes a circuit board. A drum core inductor is also included and has a drum core, a first winding, and first and second terminals extending from a first end of the drum core inductor. A wire of the first winding is wound around an axis of the drum core. The first winding has first and second ends coupled to the first and second terminals of the drum core inductor, respectively. A bobbin has first and second…
Method and apparatus to control a power converter having a low loop bandwidth
Granted: October 22, 2013
Patent Number:
8564980
An example controller includes a comparator coupled to receive a feedback signal representative of an output of the power converter. A counter is coupled to receive an output of the comparator and a feedback sampling signal. The counter is coupled to sample the output of the comparator in response to the feedback sampling signal. A state machine is coupled to receive a feedback time period signal. The state machine is coupled to control switching of the power converter according to one…
Power converter having a switch coupled between windings
Granted: October 15, 2013
Patent Number:
8558484
An example power converter includes a first winding, a second winding, a switch, and a controller. The second winding is magnetically coupled to the first winding and the switch is coupled between the first winding and the second winding such that a current flows through the first winding, the second winding and the switch when the switch is in an ON state. The controller is coupled to control the switch to regulate an output of the power converter in response to a feedback signal.
