Texas Instruments Corporation

Toshimi Satoh

Hideaki Kawahara

Toshiyuki Tani

Tohru Hongoh

Toshiyuki Ouchi

A semiconductor device having a thyristor SCR with reduced turn-off time. A third semiconductor region of the second conductivity type (anode AN) and a fourth semiconductor region of the first conductivity type (anode gate AG) are formed in the top layer of a first semiconductor region; fifth semiconductor region of the first conductivity type (cathode CA) and sixth semiconductor region of the second conductivity type (cathode gate CG) are formed in the top layer of a second semiconductor region; a gate insulating film and gate electrode MG are formed on the second semiconductor region. When the thyristor is turned off from the on state, a higher potential than that on the anode is applied to the anode gate, and a diode made up of the anode and the anode gate inside the thyristor is made to conduct so as to control the potential of the anode during driving.

Semiconductor device and its driving method

A display panel driving circuit in which a substantial portion of the power dissipation is in the portion of the circuit located off of the integrated circuit. A level shift circuit converts a high level of a signal S2 to a low level, converts a low level of the signal S2 to a high voltage VH level, and outputs a signal S2'. A transistor XSC connects output an terminal HVO1 to ground when signal S2 is at the high level. A transistor XSU is maintained in a nonconductive state when the output of the level shift circuit is low level and connects an output terminal HVO1 to an external signal input terminal VSU when the level shift circuit is at the high voltage VH level. A transistor XSD connects output terminal HVO1 to an external signal input terminal VSD when a signal S3 is at the low level and a signal S3' is at the high level; XSD is maintained in the nonconductive state when signal S3' is at the low level.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Toshimi Satoh