The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 08, 2005
Filed:
Sep. 22, 2000
John Van Saders, Asbury, NJ (US);
Douglas M. Johnson, Lansdale, PA (US);
John van Saders, Asbury, NJ (US);
Douglas M. Johnson, Lansdale, PA (US);
Anadigics, Inc., Warren, NJ (US);
Abstract
A circuit and method are disclosed for protecting an integrated circuit (IC) against transient overvoltages. The circuit comprises a balun transformer and a normally-off transistor. The balun input terminals are connected to an unbalanced circuit, while the balun output terminals are connected to a balanced circuit. The transistor is connected between the balun output terminals and has a gate connected to ground or to some other reference voltage. When an overvoltage transient signal reaches the balun input terminals, the balun transformer converts the transient to a balanced transient signal on the two branches of the balanced circuit. During overvoltage conditions, one balun output terminal will have a voltage which swings low enough that the protection transistor turns on, effectively shorting the overvoltage spike and protecting any upstream (or downstream) IC components from damage. When the transient is over, the transistor returns to the 'off' state.