Stmicroelectronics S.r.l.

General Electric Company

Marco Terenzi

Davide Ugo Ghisu

Sandro Rossi

Valeria Bottarel

Juri Giovannone

Daniele Ronchi

A high voltage driving circuit for driving a load receives a low voltage input signal and generates a high voltage output signal. A short circuit protection circuit including a first electronic switch operated by the low voltage input signal and a second electronic switch operated by a low voltage signal obtained by a voltage division of the output high voltage signal. The first electronic switch causing a first pull-up current to be sent to a capacitive element whose voltage controls an input of a threshold comparator. A second electronic switch causes a second pull-down current to be drawn from the capacitive element whose voltage controls the input of the threshold comparator. A short circuit detection signal is generated at an output of said threshold comparator, indicating a short circuit and capable of inhibiting operation of the driving circuit.

High voltage driving electronic circuit arrangement having a short circuit protection, corresponding apparatus and method

An embodiment of a 4D data ultrasound imaging system includes a matrix of transducer elements suitable for transmitting and for receiving ultrasound signals, said transducer elements being divided into sub-matrixes suitable for receiving in a delayed way a same acoustic signal, a plurality of reception channels with one of said reception channels being associated with one of said transducer elements, a beamformer device including a plurality of storage cells arranged in re-phasing matrixes, each re-phasing matrix being associated with a corresponding sub-matrix with each row associated with one of said transducer elements, said storage cells including an input storage stage that is selectively associated with a row and a reading output stage that is selectively associated with a buffer; each storage cell that belongs to a same column has the input stage that is dynamically activated in sequential times with respect to another storage cell of the same column for storing the same delayed acoustic signal, said storage cells that belong to the same column have the output stage that is simultaneously activated.

4D data ultrasound imaging system and corresponding control process

A high-voltage electronic switch includes first and second transistors defining a current flow path between an input and output of the switch. The transistors have a common point of the current flow path and a common control terminal. A control circuit includes a voltage line receiving a limit operating voltage and first and second branches coupled between the voltage line and the common point and common control terminal, respectively. Further transistors are activated, upon turning-off of the first and second transistors, for coupling the branches to the voltage line. The branches include a parallel connected resistor, diode, and string of diodes with opposite polarities. The diode of the first branch plus string of diodes of the second branch and diode of the second branch plus string of diodes of the first branch provide coupling paths between the voltage line and, respectively, the common point and common control terminal.

Electronic switch, and corresponding device and method

The operation of a circuit exhibiting a delay that is subject to a time spread as a function of process, voltage, and temperature variations is synchronized with a synchronization signal. A digital delay corresponding to the time spread is applied to the synchronization signal. The digital delay is generated via cascaded delay elements having respective delay values and by controlling the number of cascaded delay elements in the circuit that are applied to the synchronization signal.

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San Martino Siccomario, Italy

Marco Terenzi