A converter comprises a first switching element and a second switching element coupled between an input power source and an output capacitor and an inductor coupled to a common node of the first switching element and the second switching element, wherein the second switching element comprises a first diode and a first switch connected in series between a first terminal and a second terminal of the second switching element and a second diode connected between the first terminal and the second terminal of the second switching element.

Example implementations relate to dual rail circuitry using FET pairs. For example, a circuit according to the present disclosure may include a first field-effect transistor (FET) pair coupled to a dual rail circuitry, a second FET pair coupled to the dual rail circuitry, and a controller coupled to the first FET pair and the second FET pair. The controller may switch a power supply to the dual rail circuitry using the first FET pair and the second FET pair. The dual rail circuitry may provide a power supply to a computing device from a first power supply coupled to the first FET pair or a second power supply coupled to the second FET pair.

The present invention provides a semiconductor device in which a field effect transistor is prevented from burning caused by an electric current flowing through a parasitic diode. This semiconductor device has a configuration including: a field effect transistor including a parasitic diode; a temperature detector that detects a temperature of the parasitic diode; and a controller that determines whether the temperature detected by the temperature detector is higher than or equal to a first temperature, and turns on the field effect transistor if the detected temperature is higher than or equal to the first temperature.

A power supply system for USB Power Delivery includes a current source drive circuit to control a power FET to regulate the supply of power along a power path. The current source drive circuit includes a cascode current source and a cascode protection circuit formed by a source follower and a feedback voltage divider. The source follower can be a transistor with its gate connected to a cascode node between upper- and lower-stage transistors of the cascode current source. The divider node of the voltage divider is connected to the gate of the lower-stage transistor. The current source drive circuit can operate within the gate-source voltage specifications of 30-volt DEPMOS devices, and can provide high output impedance to the gate of power FET and a current limit circuit during current limiting operation, without requiring an extra high-voltage mask during fabrication.

Provided are a semiconductor device and a method of operating the same. A semiconductor device may include a comparator which compares a first voltage with a rectified voltage and provides a second voltage in accordance with the comparison. A timer circuit may operate a timer according to the second voltage and output a third voltage in correspondence with an operation time of the timer. A driver may drive a transistor with a fourth voltage generated by the driver according to the third voltage. A calibration circuit may generate a timer calibration signal based on the second voltage and the fourth voltage. The timer calibration signal may be provided to the timer circuit and used to calibrate the operation time of the timer. More efficient rectification, with reduced occurrence of reverse current, may thereby be realized.

Channel switchover power multiplexer circuits, and methods of operating the same are disclosed. An example power multiplexer a first transistor coupled to a first input, a second transistor coupled to the first transistor to couple a first voltage at the first input to an output, a third transistor coupled to a second input, a fourth transistor coupled to the third transistor to couple a second voltage at the second input to the output, a diode amplifier to provide a third voltage to a gate of the first transistor to block a reverse current, and a soft-start amplifier to provide a fourth voltage to a gate of the fourth transistor to turn on (with adjustable VOUT ramp rate) the fourth transistor with a constant ramp rate.

Voltage stabilizing and voltage regulating circuits implemented in GaN HEMT technology provide stable output voltages suitable for use in applications such as GaN power transistor gate drivers and low voltage auxiliary power supplies for GaN integrated circuits. Gate driver and voltage regulator modules include at least one GaN D-mode HEMT (DHEMT) and at least two GaN E-mode HEMTs (EHEMTs) connected together in series, so that the at least one DHEMT operates as a variable resistor and the at least two EHEMTs operate as a Zener diode that limits the output voltage. The gate driver and voltage regulator modules may be implemented as a GaN integrated circuits, and may be monolithically integrated together with other components such as amplifiers and power HEMTs on a single die to provide a GaN HEMT power module IC.

The disclosure relates to an isolation and voltage regulation circuit for an electrochemical power source, the circuit comprising: an input terminal (202) for coupling to the power source and receiving an input voltage (Vin) from the power source; an output terminal (204) for coupling to a load; a diode circuit (206) connected between the input terminal and the output terminal; a diode controller (208) configured to control electrical conduction through the diode circuit between the input terminal and the output terminal, the diode controller having a first controller input (210) coupled to the output terminal and a second controller input (212); and a reference controller (220) configured to set a voltage at the second controller input (212) in accordance with a comparison between the input voltage (Vin) and a reference voltage (Vref).

A rectifier device is described herein. In accordance with one embodiment, the rectifier device includes a semiconductor body doped with dopants of a first doping type and one or more well regions arranged in the semiconductor body and doped with dopants of a second doping type. The rectifier device further includes a controllable resistance circuit that is electrically connected between the semiconductor body and a first well region of one or more well regions and configured to provide a resistive current path between the semiconductor body and the first well region. The resistance of the current path is dependent on an instantaneous level of an alternating input voltage.

A power supply system for USB Power Delivery includes a current source drive circuit to control a power FET to regulate the supply of power along a power path. The current source drive circuit includes a cascode current source and a cascode protection circuit formed by a source follower and a feedback voltage divider. The source follower can be a transistor with its gate connected to a cascode node between upper- and lower-stage transistors of the cascode current source. The divider node of the voltage divider is connected to the gate of the lower-stage transistor. The current source drive circuit can operate within the gate-source voltage specifications of 30-volt DEPMOS devices, and can provide high output impedance to the gate of power FET and a current limit circuit during current limiting operation, without requiring an extra high-voltage mask during fabrication.