Renesas Electronics America Inc.

Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Technology America, Inc.

Tetsuo Sato

Ryotaro Kudo

Shigeru Maeta

Tsutomu Kawano

Nobuyoshi Matsuura

Ryoji Kato

Tsuyoshi Ota

Koji Kashimoto

Takao Hidaka

Toshio Kimura

Tomoaki Uno

Hirokazu Kato

Hideo Ishii

Kenji Yoshida

Gary S Jacobson

Kenichi Nakano

Kota Kano

Isao Shimura

Atsushi Mitamura

Koichi Yamazaki

Akira Negishi

Jiang Chen

Shin Chiba

Masashi Koyano

Chikara Kobayashi

Jim Comstock

Matsuura Nobuyoshi

Masato Ono

Qiu Sha

Apparatuses and circuits for overcurrent protection are described. A circuit can be connected to one of a first hybrid switching device and a second hybrid switching device in a half bridge circuit. The first hybrid switching device can include a first wide-bandgap (WBG) device and a first FET in a cascode arrangement. The first WBG device can have a higher breakdown voltage than the first FET and a larger band gap than the first FET. The second hybrid switching device can include a second hybrid switching device including a second WBG device and a second FET in a cascode arrangement. The second WBG device can have a higher breakdown voltage than the second FET and a larger band gap than the second FET. The circuit can monitor a drive current of the half bridge circuit for detecting an overcurrent condition of the half bridge circuit.

Half bridge overcurrent protection

Systems, devices, and methods for isolating digital signals are described. A carrier signal can be modulated using a first signal to generate a first modulated signal. The carrier signal and the first modulated signal can be transmitted through a forward path in an isolation barrier, where transmitting the carrier signal through the isolation barrier can transform the carrier signal into a delayed carrier signal. The first modulated signal can be demodulated to recover the first signal. The delayed carrier signal can be modulated using a second signal to generate a second modulated signal. The delayed carrier signal and the second modulated signal can be transmitted through a return path in the isolation barrier, where the return path and the forward path has opposite directions.

Isolator with forward and return paths

A simple battery and battery charger. In one embodiment, the battery charger includes an output terminal that provides a charging voltage Vout and charging current Iout. The battery is contained in a battery pack having an input terminal, which can be connected to the output terminal in order to receive Vout and Iout. The battery charger may include a first circuit for controlling the magnitude of Vout. The battery pack may include a second circuit that generates a control signal when the output terminal is connected to the input terminal. The first circuit is configured to control the magnitude of Vout based on the control signal.

Simple battery and charger system

One or more embodiments relate to a circuit that can be used to prevent cross conduction in an SMPS including multiple half-bridge modules connected in parallel to a single output inductor and driven by a single pulse width modulation (PWM) signal. According to certain aspects, each high-side driver and low-side driver in a single half-bridge module is synchronized in their switching with corresponding high-side drivers and low-side drivers in other half-bridge modules.

Parallel synchronized operation for a half-bridge configuration in a switch mode power supply

A semiconductor die is disclosed upon which is formed direct current (DC) isolated first and second circuits. The first circuit is configured for electrical connection to a first ground. The second circuit is configured for electrical connection to a second ground. The first and second grounds can be at different potentials. The first and second circuits were formed using front end of line (FEOL) and back end of line (BEOL) processes. The first circuit includes a plurality of first devices, such as transistors, which were formed during the FEOL process, and the second circuit includes only second devices, such as transistors, which were formed during the BEOL process.

Isolated circuit formed during back end of line process

A transformer less battery charger system. In one embodiment, the battery charger system includes input terminals for receiving an AC voltage, output terminals for receiving terminals of a rechargeable battery pack, and a non-isolated DC-DC converter coupled between the input terminals and the output terminals. A device is also coupled somewhere between the input terminals and the output terminals. The device is configured to selectively and indirectly couple the input terminals to the output terminals. More particularly, the device indirectly couples the input terminals to the output terminals when the rechargeable battery pack terminals are received by the output terminals, and the device indirectly decouples the input terminals from the output terminals when the rechargeable battery pack terminals are separated from the output terminals.

Transformer less battery charger system

A super scale switched capacitor for an integrated circuit is disclosed. In one embodiment the super scale switched capacitor circuit includes a capacitor coupled between a first node and a second node. A circuit is also included that contains a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit is configured to output a first current, which is a multiple of current effectively flowing through the capacitor from the second node to the first node. The second circuit is configured to input a second current, which is a multiple of current effectively flowing through the capacitor from the first node to the second node.

Super scale capacitor for integrated circuit

A battery management method and apparatus. In one embodiment of the method, a source current is divided into Ic and Icr. Ic is transmitted to and charges a battery. A first voltage is generated that is related to Icr. The first voltage is converted into a first digital signal. A processing unit receives and processes the first digital signal in accordance with instructions stored in a memory. The transmission of Ic to the battery is interrupted in response to the processing unit processing the first digital signal. Current provided by the battery is divided into Idc and Idcr. Idc is transmitted to a device. A second voltage is generated that is related to Idcr. The second voltage is converted into a second digital signal. The processing unit receives and processes the second digital signal in accordance with instructions stored in the memory. The transmission of Idc to the battery is interrupted in response to the processing unit processing the second digital signal.

Battery management control method

An apparatus that includes a first device connected to an inductor. The first device includes a first silicon carbide (SiC) junction gate field-effect transistor (JFET), a first SiC schottky barrier diode (SBD) connected to a gate and a drain of the first SiC JFET, and a first silicon (Si) transistor connected to transmit current to a source of the first SiC JFET. An inductor input terminal is connected to the drain of the first SiC JFET.

Cascode connected SiC-JFET with SiC-SBD and enhancement device

A step down convertor with a distributed driving system. In one embodiment, an apparatus is disclosed that includes an inductor coupled to an output node. The apparatus also includes first and second circuits. The first circuit can transmit current to the output node via the inductor, and the second can transmit current to the output node via the inductor. The apparatus also includes a third circuit for modifying operational aspects of the first circuit or the second circuit based on a magnitude of current flowing through the inductor.

Distributed driving system

An apparatus, in one embodiment, can include a configuration including a plurality of heat generation devices. The apparatus also includes a plurality of thermal sensors respectively, operably connected to each of the plurality of heat generation devices, wherein each thermal sensor of the plurality of thermal sensors includes a respective output terminal configured to provide a voltage representative of the temperature of the respective heat generation device. The apparatus further includes an output circuit configured to output the highest temperature information among the heat generation devices. The output terminals of the plurality of thermal sensors are tied together. A corresponding method is also discussed.

Temperature detection and reporting system and method in power driving and/or consuming system

A trench MOSFET is disclosed that includes a semiconductor substrate having a vertically oriented trench containing a gate. The trench MOSFET further includes a source, a drain, and a conductive element. The conductive element, like the gate is contained in the trench, and extends between the gate and a bottom of the trench. The conductive element is electrically isolated from the source, the gate, and the drain. When employed in a device such as a DC-DC converter, the trench MOSFET may reduce power losses and electrical and electromagnetic noise.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Tetsuo Sato