Three level gate monitoring

Abstract

The invention relates to three level gate monitoring. A method of monitoring a gate of a transistor includes monitoring a gate voltage of the transistor; measuring a first time difference between whena gate control signal is asserted and when the gate voltage of the transistor crosses a first voltage threshold based on the monitoring; measuring a second time difference between when the gate voltage of the transistor crosses the first voltage threshold and when the gate voltage of the transistor crosses a second voltage threshold based on the monitoring; and determining whether the first timedifference falls within a first time window, and whether the second time difference falls within a second time window.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to electronic circuits and systems, and in particular, to power control circuits and methods of operating the power control circuits. Background technique [0002] Power control circuitry may include power management circuitry, driver circuitry, control logic, diagnostic logic, or other circuitry. Power management circuitry may be used to generate and / or regulate supply voltages. Drive circuits can be used to control devices that generate power, such as switched mode power supplies, and can be used to control devices that consume power, such as electric motors. The motor driver may have a controller that generates pulse width modulated signals that are used to generate drive signals for the driver switches of the different phases of the motor. The pulse width modulated signal may be generated based in part on the component's internal oscillator. [0003] The power control circuit may be implemented as an inte...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0004] Although semiconductor ICs generally have high reliability, due to various reasons (such as component aging, exposure to adverse environments (eg, excessive heat, humidity, dust, mechanical stress), or improper use (eg, overvoltage or undervoltage)) , equipment failures still occur over time

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