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:
Sep. 04, 2012
Filed:
Feb. 17, 2011
Dusan Golubovic, Leuven, BE;
Gerhard Koops, Aalst, BE;
Tony Vanhoucke, Bierbeek, BE;
Rob Van Dalen, Bergeijk, NL;
Dusan Golubovic, Leuven, BE;
Gerhard Koops, Aalst, BE;
Tony Vanhoucke, Bierbeek, BE;
Rob Van Dalen, Bergeijk, NL;
NXP B.V., Eindhoven, NL;
Abstract
An optocoupler device facilitates on-chip galvanic isolation. In accordance with various example embodiments, an optocoupler circuit includes a silicon-on-insulator substrate having a silicon layer on a buried insulator layer, a silicon-based light-emitting diode (LED) having a silicon p-n junction in the silicon layer, and a silicon-based photodetector in the silicon layer. The LED and photodetector are respectively connected to galvanically isolated circuits in the silicon layer. A local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) isolation material and the buried insulator layer galvanically isolate the first circuit from the second circuit to prevent charge carriers from moving between the first and second circuits. The LED and photodetector communicate optically to pass signals between the galvanically isolated circuits.