Miscellaneous active electrical nonlinear devices – circuits – and – Specific identifiable device – circuit – or system – With specific source of supply or bias voltage
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-16
2001-09-11
Wells, Kenneth B. (Department: 2816)
Miscellaneous active electrical nonlinear devices, circuits, and
Specific identifiable device, circuit, or system
With specific source of supply or bias voltage
C327S534000, C327S546000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06288603
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention regards a high-voltage bidirectional switch made using high-voltage MOS transistors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is known, some integrated electronic devices comprise circuit parts which, albeit co-operating together, operate with different voltage levels and hence must be supplied separately. In this connection, in various integrated electronic devices, such as voltage-boosting devices used in storage devices, converter devices, power-supply devices and the like, high-voltage bidirectional switches are used that transfer voltages higher than the supply voltage between the various circuit parts that make up these devices. High-voltage bidirectional switches are also used to transfer charge between high-voltage capacitors.
According to a known solution described in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,847, in order to produce a high-voltage bidirectional switch the use of a pair of depletion MOS transistors is envisaged, said transistors having their respective source terminals connected together and their respective gate terminals connected together. The bidirectional switch thus made conducts when the voltage present between the common gate terminal and the common source terminal of the pair of MOS transistors is higher than the pinch-off voltage of the channel regions of the transistors themselves.
However, this known solution presents the drawback that it is somewhat complex to implement, and hence costly.
Also known are high-voltage bidirectional switches made using voltage-level translator devices.
Also this known solution presents disadvantages in that voltage-level translator devices have a high degree of dissipation in dynamic state.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A purpose of the present invention is to provide a high-voltage bidirectional switch comprising a pass gate having a control terminal; a first line and a second line set, respectively, at a first reference potential and at a second reference potential; a first MOS switch connected between said first line at said first reference potential and said control terminal, and having a control terminal of its own connected to a first node and receiving a control voltage, said first MOS switch being closed in the presence of a first value and open in the presence of a second value of said control voltage; a second MOS switch connected between said second line at said second reference potential and said control terminal, and having a control terminal of its own; a first memory circuit including MOS transistors and having an activation input, and an output connected to said first node, said memory circuit generating said first value of said control voltage; a second memory circuit including MOS transistors and having an activation input, and an output connected to said first node, said second memory circuit generating said second value of said control voltage; a control unit sending in sequence and cyclically: a first pulse signal to said activation input of said first memory circuit to control temporary activation of said memory circuit, storage of said first value of said control voltage on said first node, connection of said control terminal of said pass gate to said first line at a first reference potential, and storage of said first reference potential on said control terminal of said pass gate; a second pulse signal to said activation input of said second memory circuit to control temporary activation of said second memory circuit, and storage of said second value of said control voltage on said first node; and a third pulse signal to said second MOS switch to control temporary closing of said second MOS switch, and storage of said second value of said control voltage.
The characteristics and advantages of the high-voltage bidirectional switch according to the present invention will emerge from the ensuing description of an example of embodiment, which is given merely to provide a nonlimiting illustration, with reference to the attached drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4595847 (1986-06-01), Weir
patent: 5319604 (1994-06-01), Imondi et al.
patent: 5585650 (1996-12-01), Kumagai
patent: 5723985 (1998-03-01), Van Tran et al.
patent: 5925905 (1999-07-01), Hanneberg et al.
patent: 5973552 (1999-10-01), Allan
Svensson, L.J., et al., “Driving Capacitive Load without Dissipating fCV2,” IEEE Symposium on Low Power electronics, Marina del Ray, CA., 1994, pp. 100-101.
Canegallo Roberto
Dozza Davide
Zanuccoli Mauro
Dinh Paul
Galanthay Theodore E.
Iannucci Robert
Seed IP Law Group PLLC
STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
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