An apparatus includes a first drain/source region and a second drain/source region surrounded by an isolation ring formed over a substrate, the isolation ring formed being configured to be floating, and a first diode connected between the substrate and the isolation ring, wherein the first diode is a Schottky diode.

An apparatus includes a first drain/source region and a second drain/source region surrounded by an isolation ring formed over a substrate, the isolation ring formed being configured to be floating, and a first diode connected between the substrate and the isolation ring, wherein the first diode is a Schottky diode.

Circuitry for reducing the energy losses of a snubber circuit used to protect current switching devices from overvoltage, comprising a switching cell consisting of a switch with alternating opposite conduction states, the switch being serially connected via one contact to a first diode, the switch includes an inherent output capacitance, the switch connects, via a first stray inductance), between one port of a power supply and an output inductor feeding a load, and the first diode connects, via a second stray inductance, between the other port of the power supply and the output inductor, such that whenever the switch passes from a conducting state to a non-conducting state, its inherent output capacitance is charged by a current pulse from the first stray inductance; a snubber circuit consisting of a ferrite bead, a snubber capacitor and a second diode, the snubber circuit being connecting between the other contact of the switch and the other port, for discharging at least a portion of the charge across the inherent output capacitance of the switch to the snubber capacitor via the other port.

A circuit for driving the voltage of a capacitive element between two voltage levels has at least one driver cell with a first pair of switches connected in series between a first terminal of a voltage source and the capacitive element, and a second pair of switches connected in series between a second terminal of the voltage source and the capacitive element. A plurality of non-dissipative elements may be connected in parallel or in series between the first pair of switches and the second pair of switches. Combinations of switches from the driver cells may be activated and deactivated in a defined sequence to provide step-wise transfer of energy to the capacitive element. The defined sequence may have a switching pattern with a voltage change portion arranged to cause a change in an output voltage of the capacitive element driver during application thereof on the capacitive element driver.

A circuit for driving the voltage of a capacitive element between two voltage levels has at least one driver cell with a first pair of switches connected in series between a first terminal of a voltage source and the capacitive element, and a second pair of switches connected in series between a second terminal of the voltage source and the capacitive element. A plurality of non-dissipative elements may be connected in parallel or in series between the first pair of switches and the second pair of switches. Combinations of switches from the driver cells may be activated and deactivated in a defined sequence to provide step-wise transfer of energy to the capacitive element. The defined sequence may have a switching pattern with a voltage change portion arranged to cause a change in an output voltage of the capacitive element driver during application thereof on the capacitive element driver.

Circuitry for controlling current between a load and a power supply, the circuitry comprising: an output stage comprising: an input node configured to be coupled to the power supply; and an output node configured to be coupled to the load; and one or more control nodes for controlling a conduction path between the input node and the output node; and protection circuitry coupled to the one or more control nodes, the protection circuitry configured to break the conduction path between the input node and the output node when a load voltage at the output node exceeds a supply voltage at the input node, wherein the protection circuitry comprises: an active protection circuit configured to break the conduction path when the supply voltage exceeds an operational threshold of the active protection circuit; and a passive protection circuit configured to break the conduction path when the supply voltage is below an operation threshold of the active protection circuit.

A protection circuit 60 is provided with: switches 61, 62 positioned on a power line PL of an electricity storage element 22 and a load 12; first protection elements 63, 64, 65 connected in parallel with the switches 61, 62 and absorbing surge caused when the switches 61, 62 open and cut off discharge current; and a second protection element 66 connected in parallel with the load and flowing, back to the load, the surge caused when the switches 61, 62 open and cut off the discharge current.

An integrated circuit may include a power transistor coupled between a supply pin and an output pin; a current sensing circuit configured to sense a load current passing through the power transistor and to provide a respective current sense signal; a first configuration pin; a current output circuit configured to provide a diagnosis current at a current output pin; a diagnosis pin for receiving a diagnosis request signal; and a control circuit configured to: select a characteristic curve representing a current versus time characteristic dependent on a external circuit connected to the first configuration pin; generate a drive signal for the power transistor dependent on the selected characteristic curve and the current sense signal; and control—dependent on a pulse pattern of the diagnosis request signal—the current output circuit to set the value of the diagnosis current such that it represents the load current or the selected characteristic curve.

An adapter device, including an AC connection including first AC contact and second AC contact; a DC connection including first DC contact and second DC contact; a first bridge branch including first switching device and second switching device, the first switching device and second switching device connected in series at a first bridge point, the first bridge point connected to first AC contact; a second bridge branch including third switching device and fourth switching device, third switching device and fourth switching device connected in series at a second bridge point, the second bridge point connected to second AC contact; and mode-setting device configured to predetermine a direction of power flow between AC connection and/or DC connection, first bridge branch and second bridge branch connected in parallel to the first DC contact and second DC contact, and different types of switching devices used as switching devices of a bridge branch.

A turn-off protection circuit and a turn-off protection method for a switch unit. The switch unit may include a first set of switching devices coupled between a first circuit node and an output node, and a second set of switching devices coupled between a second circuit node and the output node. The turn-off protection circuit may compare a first circuit node potential at the first circuit node and/or a second circuit node potential at the second circuit node with a switch node potential at the output node to detect a the flow direction of the a freewheeling current when the switch unit is turned off, and turn on and maintain the first set of switching devices or the second set of switching devices on depending on the flow direction of the freewheeling current until the freewheeling current is reduced to a predetermined safe current threshold.