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Voltage protection integrated circuit and voltage protection system

An integrated circuit and voltage protection technology, applied in the field of robustness, can solve problems such as overvoltage and structural performance degradation in ICs

Active Publication Date: 2015-04-08
FAIRCHILD SEMICON SUZHOU +1
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Typically, overvoltages can occur due to electrostatic discharge (ESD), but can also occur because ICs are inadvertently exposed to excessive supply voltages
This can lead to performance degradation of structures in the IC

Method used

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  • Voltage protection integrated circuit and voltage protection system
  • Voltage protection integrated circuit and voltage protection system
  • Voltage protection integrated circuit and voltage protection system

Examples

Experimental program
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Embodiment Construction

[0012] Integrated circuits may be unintentionally exposed to overvoltages. For example, a car may include a charger for an electronic device such as a mobile phone. For example, a fault in the electronic circuitry of the charging system may cause the electronic device to experience voltages as high as twenty-eight volts (28V). In another example, if a plug from a wall outlet wall output charging system is inadvertently connected backwards, the electronic device may experience negative voltages of 2 to 4 volts (-2V to -4V). To protect the IC, circuitry may be included to protect low voltage circuits from overvoltage.

[0013] Typically, electronic circuits operate within a voltage range of 0V to 2V or 0V to 4V. A clamping circuit can be used to maintain the IC's voltage source at a maximum voltage of say 4V or 6V during an overvoltage condition. In an undervoltage condition, the supply drops below ground (0V) or goes down to a negative voltage. When this happens, the parasi...

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PUM

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Abstract

An apparatus comprises an integrated circuit (IC) comprising an external IC connection, an IC substrate connection, a voltage clamp circuit and an under voltage circuit. The voltage of the IC substrate connection is set to a first voltage when a voltage of the external connection of the IC is within a normal operating voltage range. The voltage clamp circuit is configured to clamp the voltage supply of one or more circuits internal to the IC to within a normal operating voltage range when the voltage of the external IC connection exceeds the normal operating voltage range. The under voltage circuit is communicatively coupled to the clamp circuit and configured to set the voltage of the substrate to a second voltage when the voltage at the external IC connection of the IC is less than zero volts.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to electronic systems and devices, and more particularly to improving the robustness of electronic devices having integrated circuits under reverse bias conditions. Background technique [0002] Integrated circuits (ICs) receive electrical signals from off-chip electronics. Protection against overvoltage is a concern for ICs. Typically, overvoltages can occur due to electrostatic discharge (ESD), but can also occur because an IC is inadvertently exposed to excessive supply voltage. This can lead to performance degradation of structures in the IC. Contents of the invention [0003] An example device includes an IC having an external IC connection point, an IC substrate connection point, a voltage clamp circuit, and an undervoltage circuit. When the voltage of the external IC connection point is within the normal operating voltage range, the voltage of the IC substrate connection point is set to the first volt...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Patents(China)
IPC IPC(8): H01L27/02
CPCH01L27/0629H01L27/0266
Inventor N·加涅格雷戈里·A·马赫尔C·克莱恩
Owner FAIRCHILD SEMICON SUZHOU