GaN-based half bridge power conversion circuits employ control, support and logic functions that are monolithically integrated on the same devices as the power transistors. In some embodiments a low side GaN device communicates through one or more level shift circuits with a high side GaN device. Various embodiments of level shift circuits and their inventive aspects are disclosed.

A load control device for controlling power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load may have a closed-loop gate drive circuit for controlling a semiconductor switch of a controllably conductive device. The controllably conductive device may be coupled in series between the source and the load. The gate drive circuit may generate a target signal in response to a control circuit. The gate drive circuit may shape the target signal over a period of time and may increase the target signal to a predetermined level after the period of time. The gate drive circuit may receive a feedback signal that indicates a magnitude of a load current conducted through the semiconductor switch. The gate drive circuit may generate a gate control signal in response to the target signal and the feedback signal, and render the semiconductor switch conductive and non-conductive in response to the gate control signal.

Radio frequency switches with improved switching speed are provided. In certain embodiments, an RF switching circuit includes a FET switch including a gate, a digital buffer configured to provide a first output voltage to the gate of the FET during a steady-state, and a fast switching circuit in parallel with the digital buffer and configured to provide a second output voltage to the gate of the FET during a switching state. The fast switching circuit includes at least one charge pump configured to boost at least one supply voltage to a multiple of the at least one supply voltage. The fast switching circuit is configured to generate the second output voltage based on the boosted at least one supply voltage.

Exemplary embodiments for an exemplary dual transmission gate and various exemplary integrated circuit layouts for the exemplary dual transmission gate are disclosed. These exemplary integrated circuit layouts represent double-height, also referred to as double rule, integrated circuit layouts. These double rule integrated circuit layouts include a first group of rows from among multiple rows of an electronic device design real estate and a second group of rows from among the multiple rows of the electronic device design real estate to accommodate a first metal layer of a semiconductor stack. The first group of rows can include a first pair of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect (CMOS) transistors, such as a first p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect (PMOS) transistor and a first n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect (NMOS) transistor, and the second group of rows can include a second pair of CMOS transistors, such as a second PMOS transistor and a second NMOS transistor. These exemplary integrated circuit layouts disclose various configurations and arrangements of various geometric shapes that are situated within an oxide diffusion (OD) layer, a polysilicon layer, a metal diffusion (MD) layer, the first metal layer, and/or a second metal layer of a semiconductor stack. In the exemplary embodiments to follow, the various geometric shapes within the first metal layer are situated within the multiple rows of the electronic device design real estate and the various geometric shapes within the OD layer, the polysilicon layer, the MD layer, and/or the second metal layer are situated within multiple columns of the electronic device design real estate.

In one embodiment, an impedance matching network includes a variable reactance circuit providing a variable capacitance or inductance. The variable reactance circuit includes reactance components and corresponding switching circuits. Each of the switching circuits includes a diode and a driver circuit to switch the diode. The driver circuit includes first and second switches coupled in series. A first driver is coupled to the first switch, a second driver is coupled to the second switch, and a third driver is coupled to the first and second drivers. The third driver provides a first signal to the first driver, and a second signal to the second driver. In providing the signals, the third driver increases and decreases a duration of a dead time between (a) driving the first driver on and the second driver off, or (b) driving the second driver on and the first driver off.

A core-shell nanofin vertical switch performs high-voltage switching and includes: an n-type GaN nanofin core including: an n-type drift layer; an n-type channel; and an n-type source; a p-type nanofin shell surrounding the n-type GaN nanofin core at an interface surface of the n-type GaN nanofin core, and comprising GaN; an optional source contact disposed on the n-type GaN nanofin core and the p-type nanofin shell and in electrical communication with the n-type source, such that the n-type source is interposed between the source contact and the n-type channel; and a gate contact disposed on the p-type nanofin shell and in electrical communication with the p-type nanofin shell, such that the p-type nanofin shell is interposed between the gate contact and the n-type channel, and the gate contact is interposed between the source contact and a drain contact.

A buck voltage converter is disclosed. The buck voltage generator includes a controller configured to generate one or more pulse width modulation (PWM) signals, and a plurality of serially connected switches configured to receive the PWM signals and to generate an output voltage signal at an output terminal based on the received PWM signals. The output voltage signal has an average voltage corresponding with a duty cycle of the PWM signals, a first switch of the plurality of serially connected switches has a first breakdown voltage and a second switch of the plurality of serially connected switches has a second breakdown voltage, and the first breakdown voltage is less than the second breakdown voltage.

A power gating circuit includes inverters and a voltage divider sub-circuit, a latch comparator, and a gated switch sub-circuit connected to an external power supply circuit of 5V, respectively. The voltage divider sub-circuit is configured to divide a voltage of 5V and output a first voltage and a second voltage to the latch comparator and the gated switch sub-circuit, both voltage values of the first voltage and the second voltage are smaller than a withstand voltage value of a field effect transistor, and the voltage value of the first voltage is greater than that of the second voltage; the latch comparator is configured to compare two signals output by the inverters and latch a comparison result; and the gated switch sub-circuit is further connected with the latch comparator to control an output voltage, thereby improving the stability of the circuit, and extending the using life of the entire circuit.

A switch circuit of an embodiment includes a radio-frequency switch and a level shifter circuit. The radio-frequency switch, which includes a first switch group and a second switch group each including a plurality of switches, switches transmission/reception of a radio-frequency signal. The level shifter circuit outputs a first signal for controlling ON/OFF of each switch of the first switch group and a second signal for controlling ON/OFF of each switch of the second switch group.

There may be two active snubbers for direct current (dc) solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs): metal-oxide-varistor with resistor-capacitor-switch (MOV-RCS) and active-MOV with resistor-capacitor-diode (AMOV-RCD). In the snubber branch, either half- or full-controlled switch can be used, leading to four topologies. The improved snubbers offer several improvements: 1) MOV is disconnected from the power line during SSCB OFF-state, which enhances reliability as neither voltage nor power appears on MOV; 2) voltage utilization rate ηv of the main switch is remarkably increased, which improves efficiency and power density, and reduces design cost shows experiments of five prototypes are conducted including four proposed snubbers and a comparison with conventional MOV-RCD snubber.