Silicon Laboratories Inc.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Krishna Pentakota

Stefan N Mastovich

Mohammad Al-Shyoukh

Huanhui Zhan

Mustafa H Koroglu

Ion Constantin Tesu

Ruifeng Sun

James Edward Heckroth

Yu Su

Ramin Khoini-Poorfard

Pio Balmelli

John Nathaniel Wilson

Michael Ireland

Greg Ridsdale

Lyric Jackson

Aslamali A Rafi

Abdulkerim Coban

Vitor Pereira

Ramin Khoini Poorfard

Joselyn Torres-Torres

Long Van Nguyen

An apparatus for communicating across an isolation barrier includes a differential pair of input terminals. The apparatus includes a bandpass filter circuit configured to receive a received signal on the differential pair of input terminals and to provide a received differential signal on a differential pair of nodes. The apparatus includes a demodulator directly coupled to the bandpass filter circuit and configured to directly demodulate the received differential signal on the differential pair of nodes to provide a demodulated received signal.

Isolation communications channel using direct demodulation and data-edge encoding

A method for controlling a high-power drive device includes providing a current having a first predetermined current level to an output node during a first phase of a multi-phase turn-on process for the high-power drive device coupled to the output node. The method includes transitioning from the first phase to a second phase of the multi-phase turn-on process based on a first indication of a sensed voltage level on the output node during the first phase and a second indication of a time elapsed from a start of the first phase during the first phase. The method includes providing the current having a second predetermined current level to the output node during the second phase.

Variable current drive for isolated gate drivers

A technique for powering gate drivers in a half-bridge configuration uses a single external power supply to power each gate driver. A single on-chip regulator regulates the positive turn-on voltage for each switch. The regulator overhead, is also used as the negative voltage for turn-off, thus transferring the low-frequency variation of the external power supply to the negative turn-off voltage. Accordingly, a single on-chip regulator generates both the positive turn-on voltage and the negative turn-off voltage. In at least one embodiment, reuse of the switch turn-off current further reduces on-chip power dissipation. The on-chip regulator's output filter capacitor discharges during turn-on of the external power switching device. During turn-off, the current that discharges the switch gate capacitance recharges the regulator filter capacitor.

Generation of positive and negative switch gate control voltages

A method for driving a high-power drive device includes providing a signal having a first predetermined signal level to an output node during a first phase of a multi-phase transition process. The method includes generating a first indication of a first parameter associated with the signal provided to the output node. The method includes generating a second indication of a second parameter associated with the signal provided to the output node. The method includes providing the signal having a second predetermined signal level to the output node during a second phase of the multi-phase transition process. The method includes transitioning from the first phase to the second phase based on the first indication and the second indication. A multi-die, distributed package technique addresses power dissipation requirements for a driver product based on size and associated power dissipation needs of the high-power drive device in a target application.

A power transfer device includes a first power supply node, a second power supply node, and an oscillator circuit configured to convert an input DC signal across the first power supply node and the second power supply node into an AC signal on a differential pair of nodes comprising a first node and a second node in response to a control signal. The oscillator circuit includes a regulated power supply node and an active shunt regulator circuit configured to clamp a peak voltage level across the regulated power supply node and the second power supply node to a clamped voltage level. The clamped voltage level is linearly related to a first voltage level on the first power supply node.

Power resonator with wide input voltage range for isolated power transfer

A power transfer device includes an oscillator circuit of a DC/AC power converter responsive to an input DC signal and an oscillator enable signal to generate an AC signal. The oscillator circuit includes a first node, a second node, and a circuit coupled between the first node and the second node. The circuit includes a cross-coupled pair of devices. The oscillator circuit further includes a variable capacitor coupled between the first node and the second node. A capacitance of the variable capacitor is based on a digital control signal. A first frequency of a pseudo-differential signal on the first node and the second node is based on the capacitance. The power transfer device further includes a control circuit configured to periodically update the digital control signal. A second frequency of periodic updates to the digital control signal is different from the first frequency.

Electromagnetic radiation control for isolated power transfer product

An integrated circuit includes a supply terminal to receive a supply voltage and a test terminal that operates in an input mode and an output mode. A test interface of the integrated circuit operates in a normal mode requiring a serial write to the test terminal to access test locations in the integrated circuit. The test interface also operates in an automatic mode in which addresses for test locations are auto incremented by toggling the supply voltage from a high voltage level to a low voltage level and back to the high voltage level. In an input mode, with the supply voltage at the low voltage level, the test pin receives configuration and address information. In output mode, with the supply voltage at the high voltage level, the test pin supplies test information corresponding to the address information received.

Single pin test interface for pin limited systems

A power transfer device includes an oscillator circuit having a first node, a second node, and a control terminal. The oscillator circuit includes a cascode circuit comprising transistors having a first conductivity type and a first breakdown voltage. The cascode circuit is coupled to the control terminal, the first node, and the second node. The oscillator circuit includes a latch circuit coupled between the cascode circuit and a first power supply node. The latch circuit includes cross-coupled transistors having the first conductivity type and a second breakdown voltage. The first breakdown voltage is greater than the second breakdown voltage. The oscillator circuit may be configured to develop a pseudo-differential signal on the first node and the second node. The pseudo-differential signal may have a peak voltage of at least three times a voltage level of an input DC signal on a second power supply node.

Power transfer device using an oscillator

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) to output an oscillating signal. The VCO may have a tank formed of at least one capacitor coupled in parallel with at least one inductor, and a plurality of transconductors to provide energy to the tank. At least one of the plurality of transconductors can be controllably switched to be coupled to the tank or to be decoupled from the tank.

Dynamically controlling a negative impedance of a voltage controlled oscillator

An isolated power transfer device has a primary side and a secondary side isolated from the primary side by an isolation barrier. A secondary-side circuit includes a rectifier circuit coupled to a secondary-side conductive coil. The secondary-side circuit includes a first resistor coupled to a first power supply node and a terminal node. The secondary-side circuit includes a second resistor coupled to the terminal node and a second power supply node. The secondary-side circuit includes a first circuit to generate a feedback signal in response to a reference voltage and a signal on the terminal node. The feedback signal has a hysteretic band defined by the first resistor and the second resistor. The secondary-side circuit is configured as an AC/DC power converter that provides, on the first power supply node, an output DC signal having a voltage level based on a ratio of the first resistor to the second resistor.

Isolated power transfer with integrated transformer and voltage control

In one example, a semiconductor die includes multi-standard, multi-channel expandable television/satellite receiver that can be flexibly implemented in a number of different configurations to enable incorporation into a plurality of different systems. The semiconductor die may include multiple tuners to receive and tune a terrestrial radio frequency (RF) signal and a satellite RF signal. These tuners may include different frequency synthesizers including voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) to generate VCO signals at different frequencies, mixers to downconvert the RF signals to baseband signals using the VCO signals. In an implementation, the semiconductor die may further include shared circuitry coupled to the tuners to digitize, process and demodulate the baseband signals.

Multi-standard, multi-channel expandable TV/satellite receiver

Techniques relating to buffer circuits. In one embodiment, a circuit includes a first transistor configured as a source follower and a feed-forward path coupled to the gate terminal of the first transistor and the drain terminal of the first transistor. In this embodiment, the feed-forward path includes circuitry configured to decouple the feed-forward path from a DC component of an input signal to the gate terminal of the first transistor. In this embodiment, the circuitry is configured to reduce a drain-source voltage of the first transistor based on the input signal. In some embodiment, the feed-forward path includes a second transistor configured as a source follower and the source terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the drain terminal of the first transistor. In various embodiments, reducing the drain-source voltage may improve linearity of the first transistor.

Highly linear buffer

An amplifier includes a negative gain amplifier, a load element, and a transconductance device. The negative gain amplifier has an input and an output. The load element has a first terminal coupled to a power supply voltage terminal, and a second terminal. The transconductance device has a first current electrode coupled to the second terminal of the load element, a control electrode coupled to the output of the negative gain amplifier, and a second current electrode coupled to the input of the negative gain amplifier.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Krishna Pentakota