Mainboard and computing device

Abstract

A mainboard comprises a slow start circuit and a monitoring circuit. The slow start circuit comprises a switch tube which is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor. The grid electrode of the switching tube is electrically connected with the input end of the monitoring circuit; the monitoring circuit is used for acquiring a grid current value of the switching tube; determining whether soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer based on the gate current value; and under the condition of soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer, an alarm signal is sent out. Therefore, the monitoring circuit can monitor the gate current value of the switching tube, and determines whether the gate oxide layer of the switching tube has soft breakdown or not according to the gate current value. When the gate oxide layer is subjected to soft breakdown, the monitoring circuit can send out an alarm signal to remind the computing device of the imminent power-off condition, so that the safe use of the computing device can be ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of server technology, and in particular to a motherboard and a computing device. Background Art

[0002] Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is a commonly used semiconductor device. MOSFET is a voltage-type drive control element. By controlling the voltage Vgs between its gate and source, the on and off of MOSFET can be controlled. As a switching element, MOSFET has many advantages such as high switching speed, low driving voltage, and low switching loss, which makes it widely used in the field of electronic circuits.

[0003] A computing device (such as a server) includes a motherboard, which may include a switching power supply and a variety of loads. The load may specifically be a CPU, a memory chip, and other chips. In order to reduce the inrush current flowing through the load when power is turned on, a slow start circuit may be provided between the load and the power supply.

[0004] In the slow start circuit, MOSFET can be selected as the switch tube. During long-term operation, the voltage between the gate and source of MOSFET is maintained for a long time, and the current flows between the source and drain for a long time. These electrical stresses will cause the gate oxide layer of MOSFET to be broken down, and the drain and source of MOSFET to form an open circuit state. This will cause the load in the electronic circuit to suddenly lose power, and the safe use of the computing device cannot be ensured, resulting in a poor user experience.

[0005] Therefore, how to ensure the safe use of computing devices is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a motherboard and a computing device, which can send out an alarm signal when a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer to prompt the computing device of an impending power outage, thereby ensuring the safe use of the computing device.

[0007] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a mainboard, the mainboard comprising a slow start circuit and a monitoring circuit; wherein the slow start circuit comprises a switch tube, the switch tube being a metal oxide semiconductor field effect tube; the gate of the switch tube being electrically connected to the input end of the monitoring circuit; the monitoring circuit being used to: obtain the gate current value of the switch tube; determine whether a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer based on the gate current value; and issue an alarm signal in the event of a soft breakdown in the gate oxide layer. In this way, the monitoring circuit can monitor the gate current value of the switch tube, and determine whether a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer of the switch tube based on the gate current value. In the event of a soft breakdown in the gate oxide layer, the monitoring circuit can issue an alarm signal to prompt the computing device of an impending power outage, thereby ensuring the safe use of the computing device.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the monitoring circuit is used to determine whether the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown based on the gate current value, including: the monitoring circuit is used to: determine whether the gate current value is greater than a preset current value; wherein the preset current value is greater than a first current value and less than a second current value; the first current value is the gate current value before the gate oxide layer of the switch tube has soft breakdown, and the second current value is the initial gate current value after the gate oxide layer of the switch tube has soft breakdown; when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, it is determined that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. In this way, the monitoring circuit can determine whether the gate current value is greater than the preset current value by comparing the gate current value with the preset current value. If it is greater than, it indicates that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. If it is less than, it indicates that the gate oxide layer has not soft breakdown.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the monitoring circuit is used to determine that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, including: the monitoring circuit is used to: when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, determine whether the duration of the gate current value being greater than the preset current value is greater than the preset duration; when the duration of the gate current value being greater than the preset current value is greater than the preset duration, determine that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. In this way, when the monitoring circuit determines that the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, it can further determine whether the duration of the gate current value being greater than the preset current value is greater than the preset duration. If it is greater, it indicates that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. If it is less, it indicates that the gate oxide layer has not soft breakdown. In this way, the monitoring circuit can avoid erroneously issuing an alarm signal when the slow-start switch tube is turned on and in the on-state stage.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the slow start circuit further includes a driving resistor; the monitoring circuit includes an analog-to-digital converter, a processor, and an alarm; the gate of the switch tube is connected in series with the driving resistor; the first input terminal and the second input terminal of the analog-to-digital converter are electrically connected to the two ends of the driving resistor respectively; the output terminal of the analog-to-digital converter is electrically connected to the processor; the processor is also electrically connected to the alarm; the analog-to-digital converter is used to obtain a first voltage value; wherein the first voltage value is the voltage value at both ends of the driving resistor; the processor is used to receive the first voltage value sent by the analog-to-digital converter; when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value, an alarm trigger signal is sent to the alarm; wherein the preset voltage value is determined according to the driving resistor and the preset current value; the alarm is used to send an alarm signal when receiving the alarm trigger signal. In this way, the analog-to-digital converter can obtain the voltage value at both ends of the driving resistor. Then, the processor can compare the voltage value with the preset voltage value. If the voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, it indicates that the slow start switch tube has a soft breakdown, so an alarm trigger signal can be sent to the alarm. After receiving the alarm trigger signal, the alarm may send out an alarm signal to remind the user of the risk of sudden power failure of the computing device.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the processor is used to send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value, including: the processor is specifically used to: when the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, determine whether the duration of the first voltage value being greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration; if the duration of the first voltage value being greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration, send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm. In this way, when the processor determines that the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, it can further determine whether the duration of the gate voltage value being greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration. If it is greater than, it indicates that the slow-start switch tube has a soft breakdown. If it is less than, it indicates that the slow-start switch tube has not a soft breakdown. The monitoring circuit can avoid erroneously sending an alarm signal when the slow-start switch tube Q is turned on and turned on.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the soft start circuit further includes a driving resistor; the monitoring circuit includes a current sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, a processor and an alarm; the gate of the switch tube, the driving resistor and the current sensor are connected in series; the first input terminal and the second input terminal of the analog-to-digital converter are electrically connected to the output terminal of the current sensor respectively; the current sensor is used to generate a measurement result signal corresponding to the gate current; the analog-to-digital converter is used to obtain the measurement result signal and perform analog-to-digital conversion on the measurement result signal to obtain the gate current value; the processor is used to obtain the gate current value and send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value. In this way, the gate current value of the switch tube can be obtained by the current sensor and the analog-to-digital converter. The processor compares the gate current value with the preset current value to determine whether the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. If soft breakdown occurs, an alarm trigger signal can be sent to the alarm so that the alarm can promptly send an alarm signal for prompting the user to ensure the safe use of the computing device.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the processor is used to send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm, including: the processor is used to: determine the first voltage value interval to which the first voltage value belongs; the first voltage value interval is one of multiple voltage value intervals; determine the first alarm trigger signal corresponding to the first voltage value interval; the first alarm trigger signal is one of multiple alarm trigger signals; send the first alarm trigger signal to the alarm; the alarm is used to send an alarm signal when receiving the alarm trigger signal, including: the alarm is used to send the first alarm signal corresponding to the first alarm trigger signal when receiving the first alarm trigger signal; the first alarm signal is one of multiple alarm signals. In this way, when the processor determines that the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, it can further determine whether the duration of the gate voltage value greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration. If it is greater, it indicates that the switch tube has a soft breakdown. If it is less than, it indicates that the switch tube has not a soft breakdown. In this way, the monitoring circuit can avoid erroneously sending an alarm signal when the slow-start switch tube is turned on and turned on.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the analog-to-digital converter and the processor are integrated together, or the analog-to-digital converter and the processor are independent of each other. When the two are independent of each other, the analog-to-digital converter and the processor can be connected via a communication connection line.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the driving resistor is a precision resistor. When a precision resistor is used as the gate driving resistor, the voltage value across the gate driving resistor can more accurately represent the gate current value, thereby enabling the alarm to generate an alarm signal more accurately.

[0016] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computing device, comprising a switching power supply and a mainboard; the mainboard is any one of the mainboards in the first aspect; the switching power supply is electrically connected to the mainboard; the output end of the switching power supply is electrically connected to the input end of the slow start circuit.

[0017] In the third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a soft start circuit monitoring method, which is applied to a monitoring circuit on a mainboard; the mainboard also includes a soft start circuit; wherein the soft start circuit includes a switching tube, which is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect tube; the gate of the switching tube is electrically connected to the input end of the monitoring circuit; the method includes: obtaining the gate current value of the switching tube; based on the gate current value, determining whether a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer; and issuing an alarm signal when a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer.

[0018] In one possible implementation, determining whether a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer based on the gate current value includes: determining whether the gate current value is greater than a preset current value; wherein the preset current value is greater than a first current value and less than a second current value; the first current value is the gate current value before a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer of the switching tube, and the second current value is the initial gate current value after a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer of the switching tube; when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, it is determined that a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the determining that the gate oxide layer has undergone soft breakdown when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value includes: determining whether a duration for which the gate current value is greater than the preset current value is greater than a preset duration when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value; and determining that the gate oxide layer has undergone soft breakdown when the duration for which the gate current value is greater than the preset current value is greater than the preset duration.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the soft start circuit further includes a driving resistor; the monitoring circuit includes an analog-to-digital converter, a processor, and an alarm; the gate of the switch tube is connected in series with the driving resistor; the first input terminal and the second input terminal of the analog-to-digital converter are electrically connected to the two ends of the driving resistor respectively; the output terminal of the analog-to-digital converter is electrically connected to the processor; the processor is also electrically connected to the alarm;

[0021] The method includes: the analog-to-digital converter acquires a first voltage value; wherein the first voltage value is the voltage value across the driving resistor; the processor receives the first voltage value sent by the analog-to-digital converter; when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value, an alarm trigger signal is sent to the alarm; wherein the preset voltage value is determined based on the driving resistor and the preset current value; and when the alarm receives the alarm trigger signal, the alarm sends an alarm signal.

[0022] In one possible implementation, when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value, sending an alarm trigger signal to the alarm includes: when the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, determining whether the duration for which the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration; if the duration for which the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration, sending an alarm trigger signal to the alarm.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the soft start circuit also includes a driving resistor; the monitoring circuit includes a current sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, a processor and an alarm; the gate of the switching tube, the driving resistor and the current sensor are connected in series; the first input terminal and the second input terminal of the analog-to-digital converter are electrically connected to the output terminal of the current sensor respectively; the method includes: the current sensor generates a measurement result signal corresponding to the gate current; the analog-to-digital converter obtains the measurement result signal, and performs analog-to-digital conversion on the measurement result signal to obtain the gate current value; the processor obtains the gate current value, and when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, sends an alarm trigger signal to the alarm.

[0024] In a possible implementation, sending an alarm trigger signal to the alarm includes: determining a first voltage value interval to which the first voltage value belongs; the first voltage value interval is one of multiple voltage value intervals; determining a first alarm trigger signal corresponding to the first voltage value interval; the first alarm trigger signal is one of multiple alarm trigger signals; sending the first alarm trigger signal to the alarm; the alarm, upon receiving the alarm trigger signal, issues an alarm signal, including: upon receiving the first alarm trigger signal, the alarm issues a first alarm signal corresponding to the first alarm trigger signal; the first alarm signal is one of multiple alarm signals.

[0025] In a possible implementation manner, the analog-to-digital converter and the processor are integrated together, or the analog-to-digital converter and the processor are independent of each other.

[0026] In a possible implementation manner, the driving resistor is a precision resistor.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided in an embodiment of the present application, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed in a processor, the processor is used to: obtain the gate current value of the switching tube, and send an alarm trigger signal to an alarm when the gate current value is greater than a preset current value, or obtain the first voltage value across the driving resistor, and send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value.

[0028] In the fifth aspect, a computer program product is also provided in an embodiment of the present application, wherein the computer program product stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the processor is used to: obtain the gate current value of the switching tube, and send an alarm trigger signal to an alarm when the gate current value is greater than a preset current value, or obtain the first voltage value across the driving resistor, and send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value.

[0029] It can be understood that the beneficial effects of the second to fifth aspects mentioned above can be found in the relevant description of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a MOSFET provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 2 This is a circuit connection diagram of a mainboard provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 3 This is a circuit connection diagram of another mainboard provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 4 This is a circuit connection diagram of another mainboard provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 5 This is a circuit connection diagram of another mainboard provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 6 It is a flow chart of a soft start circuit monitoring method provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The term "and / or" in this article is a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The symbol " / " in this article indicates that the associated objects are in an or relationship, for example, A / B means A or B.

[0037] The terms "first" and "second" in the specification and claims herein are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order of the objects. For example, a first response message and a second response message are used to distinguish different response messages rather than to describe a specific order of the response messages.

[0038] In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0039] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. For example, multiple processors means two or more processors, etc.; multiple elements means two or more elements, etc.

[0040] At present, when using a computing device, a power supply is required to continuously supply power to the computing device. The power supply here can be a switching power supply module for converting 220V AC voltage into 12V DC voltage output. Since the computing device also includes a motherboard, the motherboard is provided with loads such as memory chips and CPU. When a switching power supply is used to directly supply power to the load on the motherboard, at the moment of power-on, the inrush current flowing through the load is large and may affect the stability of the output voltage of the aforementioned switching power supply.

[0041] In order to reduce the impact current flowing through the load when power is turned on, and also to ensure the stability of the output voltage of the switching power supply, a slow start circuit can be provided between the switching power supply and the load. Specifically, the slow start circuit can be provided on the mainboard, and the input end of the slow start circuit is electrically connected to the output end of the switching power supply. The output end of the slow start circuit is used to supply power to the load on the mainboard.

[0042] The slow start circuit includes a switch tube, specifically, the switch tube can be a MOSFET. The inventor found in the study that since the MOSFET in the slow start circuit takes a long time to turn on and turn on, the MOSFET is more likely to break down under the action of electrical stress in the subsequent process, thereby causing a sudden power outage of the load in the computing device, and failing to ensure the safe use of the computing device.

[0043] In one example, the computing device may be a server. Once the MOSFET in the soft-start circuit breaks down, various loads on the server motherboard will suddenly lose power, which may result in serious consequences such as loss of important data or sudden interruption of corresponding services provided to users.

[0044] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a soft start circuit monitoring solution. The solution can monitor the gate current of the MOSFET and determine whether the gate oxide layer of the MOSFET has soft breakdown according to the gate current value. In the case of soft breakdown, an alarm signal can be issued to prompt the computing device of an impending power outage. Furthermore, the user can take corresponding preventive measures according to the alarm signal to ensure the safe use of the computing device.

[0045] In order to more clearly illustrate the soft start circuit monitoring scheme in the embodiment of the present application, the causes of the impact current during power-on, the structure of the soft start circuit, the principle of the soft start circuit to reduce the impact current value, and the breakdown of the MOSFET gate oxide layer are first introduced in detail below.

[0046] The formation of the surge current is closely related to the structure of MOSFET. There are many types of MOSFET, including N-channel enhancement MOSFET, P-channel enhancement MOSFET, N-channel depletion MOSFET and P-channel depletion MOSFET. The structures of these MOSFETs are similar. Here, N-channel enhancement MOSFET is used as an example for explanation.

[0047] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of an N-channel enhancement MOSFET is shown. A low-doped P-type silicon wafer is used as the substrate, and two highly doped N+ regions are made by diffusion process, and two electrodes are introduced as the source and the drain. A silicon dioxide insulating layer, i.e., the gate oxide layer, can also be made on the P-type silicon wafer, and its thickness is about 5 to 200 nanometers.

[0048] A layer of metal aluminum is made on the gate oxide layer, and an electrode is drawn out to serve as the gate. The substrate and the source are usually connected together. In this way, the gate and the substrate are each equivalent to a plate, with an insulating layer in the middle to form a capacitor. When the gate-source voltage Vgs changes, the amount of induced charge near the gate oxide layer of the substrate will change, thereby controlling the size of the current flowing through the N channel of the MOSFET, and thus controlling the on-off state of the MOSFET.

[0049] Due to the structure and manufacturing process of MOSFET, parasitic capacitance is inevitably present in MOSFET, and the presence of parasitic capacitance has an important impact on the operation of MOSFET. Specifically, the gate and source of MOSFET are isolated by the gate oxide layer, forming a gate-source capacitance Cgs. The gate and drain of MOSFET are isolated by the gate oxide layer, forming a gate-drain capacitance Cgd. The sum of the gate-source capacitance Cgs and the gate-drain capacitance Cgd is the input capacitance Ciss of MOSFET. The input capacitance Ciss of MOSFET represents the total input capacitance of MOSFET when the gate of MOSFET is used as the input terminal.

[0050] MOSFET is a voltage-type drive control element and can be electrically connected to the drive circuit via a gate drive resistor (referred to as a drive resistor). The gate drive resistor can limit the current and eliminate the gate voltage oscillation of the MOSFET.

[0051] like Figure 2 As shown, on the mainboard, the voltage Vgs between the gate and source of the MOSFET is controlled by the driving circuit, so that the on and off of the MOSFET can be controlled, that is, whether the load on the computing device is powered on can be controlled. In one example, the driving circuit can be a push-pull driving circuit.

[0052] By providing corresponding voltages to the gate, source and drain of the MOSFET through the aforementioned drive circuit (e.g., a push-pull drive circuit), the MOSFET will be turned on (converted from the disconnected state of the source and drain to the on state) very quickly. Taking the N-channel enhancement MOSFET as an example, the power supply voltage switching speed of the drive circuit is fast, and the current output capability is relatively strong. Therefore, the drive circuit charges the gate source capacitance Cgs and the gate drain capacitance Cgd through the gate drive resistor of the MOSFET quickly, thereby making the Vgs rise very quickly. It can be seen that when using an ordinary drive circuit, the time required for the MOSFET to turn on is very short, usually only tens of nanoseconds.

[0053] On the motherboard of a computing device, MOSFET is electrically connected to the load (such as the CPU and memory chip). Since MOSFET turns on quickly, the voltage applied to the load increases rapidly from 0V to the power supply output voltage at the moment when the MOSFET is turned on by the driving circuit, thereby generating a large surge current in the load. The surge current can bring many potential hazards to circuits and computing devices, such as accelerating component aging and causing arcs and fires. It may also cause the power supply output voltage to drop, affecting the normal operation of other circuits powered by the power supply.

[0054] In order to reduce the inrush current when powering on, a soft start circuit can be used. In the soft start circuit, if Figure 3 As shown, the slow start control chip can be used as a driving circuit for the switch tube Q, and the slow start chip can control the on and off of the switch tube Q through the driving resistor R.

[0055] Generally speaking, in the scenario where MOSFET breaks down, in the slow start circuit, the working state of MOSFET can be divided into four stages. The first stage is the stage when MOSFET is turned on; the second stage is the stage when MOSFET is normally turned on; the third stage is the stage when the gate oxide layer of MOSFET is softly broken down; and the fourth stage is the stage when the gate oxide layer of MOSFET is hard broken down.

[0056] In the first stage, when the power is on, the slow start control chip can control the time required for the MOSFET to turn on the conducting state by controlling the charging speed of the gate-source capacitor Cgs and the gate-drain capacitor Cgd. Specifically, the slow start control chip can slowly charge the gate-source capacitor Cgs and the gate-drain capacitor Cgd through the gate drive resistor, so that Vgs rises slowly, thereby extending the time required for the MOSFET to turn on the conducting state. In this way, when the MOSFET is turned on, the voltage applied to the load increases relatively slowly from 0V to the power supply output voltage, so that when the power is on, the current flowing through the load increases relatively slowly, reducing the impact current flowing through the load.

[0057] In one example, the slow start control chip includes a current source, and the current output by the current source is used to charge the gate-source capacitor Cgs and the gate-drain capacitor. The slow start control chip can control the charging speed of the gate-source capacitor Cgs and the gate-drain capacitor by controlling the magnitude of the current output by the current source, thereby controlling the speed at which the MOSFET turns on.

[0058] The following is a principle explanation of the slow start process. Taking capacitive load as an example, according to the formula Q = C*U and Q = I*t, we can get I = C*U / t. Among them, C is the capacitance of the capacitive load, Q is the amount of charge stored in the capacitive load, I is the current flowing through the capacitive load, t is the time required for the MOSFET to turn on, and U is the voltage drop across the capacitive load, which is related to the voltage of the switching power supply.

[0059] For a specific application scenario, the capacitance C of the capacitive load is a constant, and the voltage of the switching power supply is also a constant. Then, it is easy to know that when the capacitive load is powered on, the current value I flowing through the capacitive load is inversely proportional to the time value t required for the MOSFET to turn on. When using a slow start circuit, since the value of t is effectively increased, the current value I flowing through the capacitive load when powered on can be effectively reduced.

[0060] In one example, when a common driving circuit is used to drive a MOSFET, the time required for the MOSFET to turn on and conduct is tens of nanoseconds. When a slow start circuit is used, the time required for the MOSFET in the slow start circuit to turn on and conduct is 10ms, thereby greatly reducing the impact current flowing through the load.

[0061] After the MOSFET is turned on, the aforementioned second stage is entered, and the power supply voltage can be stably supplied to the load on the computing device motherboard through the turned-on MOSFET, so that the load is in a normal working state. However, in the on state, there is leakage current between the gate and source of the MOSFET, so that the charge stored in the gate-source capacitor Cgs is continuously reduced. Similarly, there is also leakage current between the gate and the drain, so that the charge stored in the capacitor Cgd is also continuously reduced.

[0062] Therefore, the slow start control chip needs to continuously charge the gate-source capacitor Cgs and the gate-drain capacitor Cgd through the gate drive resistor to keep the gate-source voltage Vgs of the MOSFET constant to maintain the on state of the MOSFET. However, since the gate-source leakage current and the gate-drain leakage current are small, the gate current (also called the drive current or charging current) at this time is much smaller than the gate current value of the MOSFET in the on-state stage. In one example, in the second stage, the gate current value is 10nA (nanoampere), while in the first stage, the gate current value is 5mA.

[0063] In the process of using the slow start circuit, if the gate oxide layer of the MOSFET in the slow start circuit is broken down, the computing device will be suddenly powered off. Specifically, the breakdown of the MOSFET can be divided into two categories: abnormal breakdown and normal breakdown.

[0064] Abnormal breakdown refers to a breakdown phenomenon caused by various non-design factors, such as electrostatic breakdown and radiation breakdown. For example, when electrostatic breakdown occurs, the electric field strength in the gate oxide layer exceeds the maximum field strength it can withstand, which will cause instantaneous breakdown and generate a large current in the gate oxide layer. Among them, electrostatic breakdown and radiation breakdown are common abnormal breakdowns, which are mainly caused by external environmental factors. The occurrence of abnormal breakdown phenomena can usually be prevented by limiting static electricity and radiation. It should be noted that the abnormal breakdown situation does not fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application, and it is introduced here to emphasize the difference between it and the normal breakdown described below.

[0065] In addition, normal breakdown is also called time dependent breakdown (TDDB), which refers to the breakdown phenomenon that occurs when the MOSFET works normally under the designed constraints. Time dependent breakdown generally includes a soft breakdown stage (the aforementioned third stage) and a hard breakdown stage (the aforementioned fourth stage). The inventors found in their research that since it takes a long time for the MOSFET in the slow start circuit to turn on, the MOSFET is more likely to experience soft breakdown under the action of electrical stress (referring to the voltage and current that the MOSFET withstands) in the subsequent process.

[0066] In the soft breakdown stage, the performance of MOSFET deteriorates or the parameter indicators decrease, but it is not completely damaged. Compared with before the soft breakdown, the gate-source leakage current and the gate-drain leakage current will increase suddenly, so the gate current of MOSFET will also increase suddenly. In the soft breakdown state, MOSFET can generally work normally for a period of time, such as a few days. However, if MOSFET works in the soft breakdown state for a long time, the gate current of MOSFET will continue to increase, eventually causing the MOSFET to overheat and the gate oxide layer to undergo hard breakdown.

[0067] In one example, when the gate oxide layer of the MOSFET just undergoes soft breakdown, the gate current suddenly changes from 10nA to 1uA (microampere). As time goes by, the gate current slowly increases from 1uA to 5uA, and then hard breakdown occurs. The 1uA here is the initial gate current value when the gate oxide layer of the MOSFET undergoes soft breakdown.

[0068] The specific manifestation of hard breakdown of the gate oxide layer is that the gate current flowing through the MOSFET suddenly increases. The energy generated by the large current causes the gate oxide layer to rupture, causing the gate oxide layer to lose its insulation function, and the source and drain of the MOSFET to form an open circuit, thereby causing the computing device to suddenly lose power.

[0069] There are currently many theoretical explanations for the soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer of MOSFET. One of the explanations is that during the manufacturing process of MOSFET, certain defects are inevitably introduced into the gate oxide layer. When a voltage is applied to the gate oxide layer, the defects in the gate oxide layer will form electron traps that are randomly distributed in the gate oxide layer.

[0070] Under the action of the electric field in the gate oxide layer, each electron well has the ability to capture electrons, and electrons may also jump from one electron well to another after obtaining energy. Assuming that each electron well has the same ability to capture electrons and the radius of the electron capture range is r, then each electron well will form a spherical area with a radius of r to capture electrons.

[0071] Under the action of the electric field, the areas where electron traps capture electrons may overlap with each other, forming a current path from the upper interface to the lower interface of the gate oxide layer. This current path then becomes a potential breakdown path. Due to the existence of the current path, the performance of the gate oxide layer will slowly decline, and the current flowing through the gate oxide layer will suddenly increase, i.e., soft breakdown occurs. After a period of soft breakdown, the current will further discharge through the current path, the gate oxide layer will be broken down, the gate will be damaged, and a short circuit will be formed between the source and the drain, i.e., hard breakdown occurs.

[0072] Since the distribution of electron traps in the gate oxide layer is random, the thinner the gate oxide layer, the fewer electron traps are needed to form a path, so thin gate oxide layers are more likely to experience soft breakdown than thick gate oxide layers. At the same time, since the probability of defects in the gate oxide layer per unit area is certain, compared with a small gate oxide layer, a large gate oxide layer is more likely to form a top-down breakdown path and is more likely to experience soft breakdown.

[0073] For the MOSFET soft breakdown phenomenon, the soft start circuit monitoring solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can monitor the gate current of the MOSFET and determine whether the gate oxide layer of the MOSFET has soft breakdown according to the gate current value. Then, an alarm signal can be sent to the user during the soft breakdown stage to inform the user of the impending power failure of the computing device.

[0074] Next, the soft start circuit monitoring solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced in detail.

[0075] Figure 4 FIG. 1 shows a circuit connection diagram of a mainboard provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the mainboard 1 may include a slow start circuit 11, a monitoring circuit 12 and a load 13. As mentioned above, the load 13 may specifically be a CPU, a memory chip and other chips on the mainboard 1. The slow start circuit 11 includes a slow start control chip 111, a slow start switch tube Q (MOSFET) and a gate drive resistor R. The structure and working principle of the slow start circuit 11 can refer to the above related descriptions and will not be described in detail here. The monitoring circuit 12 includes an analog-to-digital converter 121, a processor 122 and an alarm 123.

[0076] It should be noted that the number of the slow-start switch tubes Q in the embodiment of the present application may be one or more. For the convenience and simplicity of description, the embodiment of the present application only takes the case where the number of the slow-start switch tube Q is one as an example for description.

[0077] The following describes in detail the process of monitoring whether the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q undergoes soft breakdown by the monitoring circuit 12 .

[0078] The slow start circuit 11 includes a slow start switch tube Q as a switch element, and the gate of the slow start switch tube Q is electrically connected to one end of the gate drive resistor R. The two input ends of the analog to digital converter (ADC) 121 can be electrically connected to the two ends of the gate drive resistor R respectively. Therefore, the analog to digital converter 121 can obtain the voltage value at both ends of the gate drive resistor R in real time according to the voltage signal at both ends of the gate drive resistor R, and send the obtained voltage value to the processor 122.

[0079] It should be noted that, since the gate current of the slow-start switch tube Q needs to flow through the gate drive resistor R, and the resistance of the gate drive resistor R is a constant value, the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R is proportional to the gate current value, and the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R can be used to characterize the gate current value of the slow-start switch tube Q. In addition, the analog-to-digital converter 121 samples the voltage signal from the original gate drive resistor R, so the circuit connection structure is simpler and the cost is lower.

[0080] In one example, the analog-to-digital converter 121 may be an independent chip and electrically connected to the processor 122 via a connection line. For example, the analog-to-digital converter 121 chip may be electrically connected to the processor 122 via an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus, or may be electrically connected to the processor 122 via a serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus.

[0081] In another example, the analog-to-digital converter 121 may be integrated into the processor 122 .

[0082] The process of the analog-to-digital converter 121 acquiring the voltage value across the gate driving resistor R includes a sampling step, a quantization step and an encoding step, which are described in detail as follows.

[0083] In the sampling step, the analog-to-digital converter 121 collects the voltage signal (specifically in the form of an analog signal) across the gate drive resistor R at a certain time interval. The time interval for collection is called a sampling period. The smaller the sampling period, the more accurate the sampled signal. During the sampling process, the analog signal is converted into a series of sampled samples.

[0084] In the quantization step, the analog-to-digital converter 121 can convert the amplitude of the sample into a digital signal. Specifically, in the quantization process, the amplitude can be pre-divided into several levels, each level corresponding to a digital signal. According to the level to which the amplitude of the sample belongs, the digital signal corresponding to the sample can be determined.

[0085] In the encoding step, the quantized digital signal can be converted into a binary code that is easy for the processor 122 to process. The binary code represents the voltage value across the gate driving resistor R.

[0086] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to enable the alarm 123 to send out an alarm signal in time when the slow-start switch tube Q undergoes a soft breakdown. After the processor 122 receives the voltage value sent by the analog-to-digital converter 121, it can determine whether the voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value. If so, it indicates that the gate current of the slow-start switch tube Q is too large, and the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q has undergone a soft breakdown phenomenon, so an alarm trigger signal can be sent to the alarm 123, so that the alarm 123 can send out an alarm signal to the user in time. Among them, the specific form of the alarm signal can be an acoustic alarm signal, a light alarm signal, or an alarm message displayed on the display screen of the alarm 123.

[0087] In one example, the alarm trigger signal may be a digital signal, and the alarm signal may be an analog signal obtained by converting the alarm trigger signal from digital to analog.

[0088] Specifically, the user can obtain the gate current value and the resistance value of the gate drive resistor R before the soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q in advance, and calculate the product of the two to obtain the voltage value V1 across the gate drive resistor R before the soft breakdown occurs. Then, the initial gate current value and the resistance value of the gate drive resistor R after the soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q can also be obtained, and the product of the two can be calculated to obtain the initial voltage value V2 across the gate drive resistor R after the soft breakdown occurs. Finally, the user can set the voltage threshold to a voltage value between the voltage value V1 and the voltage value V2.

[0089] Among them, the gate current value before the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q undergoes soft breakdown, the initial gate current value after the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q undergoes soft breakdown, and the resistance value of the gate drive resistor R can be values ​​obtained by the user through measurement during the experiment, or can be theoretical values ​​obtained from relevant materials.

[0090] In a specific example, the resistance of the gate drive resistor R is 10 ohms, and before the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q undergoes soft breakdown, the gate current value is 10nA. It can be calculated that the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R is 100nV. After the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q undergoes soft breakdown, the initial gate current value is 1uA. It can be calculated that when the soft breakdown just occurs, the initial voltage value across the gate drive resistor R is 10uV. The voltage threshold can be set to a voltage value between 100nV and 10uV, for example, 1uV.

[0091] After receiving the voltage value sent by the analog-to-digital converter 121, the processor 122 can compare the voltage value with the aforementioned voltage threshold to determine whether the voltage value is greater than the aforementioned voltage threshold. If the voltage value is less than the aforementioned voltage threshold, it indicates that the gate current of the slow-start switch tube Q is normal and the gate oxide layer has not undergone soft breakdown. If the voltage value is greater than the aforementioned voltage threshold, it indicates that the gate current of the slow-start switch tube Q is too large and the slow-start switch tube Q has undergone soft breakdown. Therefore, the processor 122 can send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123 so that the alarm 123 can send an alarm signal to the user in time. After observing the alarm signal, the user can manually shut down the computing device to avoid the sudden power outage caused by the hard breakdown of the slow-start switch tube Q causing safety damage to the computing device. In one example, the computing device is a server. After observing the alarm signal, the user can shut down the server to avoid the consequences of losing important data and ensure the safe use of the server.

[0092] In the subsequent process, the user can also manually power off the switching power supply and replace the slow-start switch tube Q that has experienced soft breakdown. After the replacement is completed, the computing device is powered on again, thus eliminating the risk of sudden power failure of the computing device.

[0093] In some embodiments, a precision resistor can be used as the gate drive resistor R. Compared with ordinary resistors, precision resistors have higher precision and better stability. Ordinary resistors are generally made of materials such as carbon film, metal oxide or conductive polymer. Precision resistors can be made of materials such as metal film, metal foil or resistor alloy to achieve higher precision and stability.

[0094] Generally, the error value of ordinary resistors (i.e., the difference between the actual resistance value and the nominal resistance value) is relatively high, generally 5%, 10% or higher. The error value of precision resistors is relatively low, generally 0.1%, 0.01% or lower. Therefore, when a precision resistor is used as the gate drive resistor R, the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R can more accurately represent the gate current value, thereby enabling the alarm 123 to generate an alarm signal more accurately.

[0095] As mentioned above, in the on-state stage of the slow-start switch tube Q, the slow-start control chip 111 charges the gate-source capacitor Cgs and the gate-drain capacitor Cgd through the gate drive resistor R. The voltage value generated by the charging current (gate current) at both ends of the gate drive resistor R is much larger than the aforementioned voltage threshold. For example, in the on-state stage of the slow-start switch tube Q, the gate current value is 5mA, and the voltage value at both ends of the gate drive resistor R is 50mV, which is much larger than the aforementioned voltage threshold 1uV.

[0096] Therefore, during the on-state stage of the slow-start switch tube Q, even if the slow-start switch tube Q does not experience soft breakdown, the processor 122 will detect that the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R is greater than the aforementioned voltage threshold, and mistakenly send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123, thereby causing the alarm 123 to mistakenly send an alarm signal and mislead the user.

[0097] The inventors found in their research that when the slow-start switch tube Q is turned on (i.e., the first stage), the gate current is used to charge the gate-source capacitance Cgs and the gate-drain capacitance Cgd, but the first stage lasts for a short time. After the soft breakdown occurs, the third stage lasts for a much longer time.

[0098] Based on this feature, in some embodiments, the user can obtain the duration of the on-state phase of the slow-start switch tube Q and the duration of the soft breakdown phase, and set the duration threshold to a value between the two. In one example, the duration of the on-state phase of the slow-start switch tube Q is 10ms, and the duration of the soft breakdown phase is generally several days, so the duration threshold can be set to a value between the two, such as 1s.

[0099] Then, the processor 122 can monitor the duration of the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R being greater than the aforementioned voltage threshold. When the duration is greater than the aforementioned duration threshold, it indicates that the large current flowing through the gate drive resistor R is caused by soft breakdown, and cannot be the charging current of the soft-start switch tube Q in the on-state state. At this time, the processor 122 can send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123.

[0100] On the contrary, if the processor 122 detects that the duration is less than the preset duration, it indicates that the larger current flowing through the gate drive resistor R is the charging current of the slow-start switch tube Q during the turn-on phase, and the slow-start switch tube Q does not experience soft breakdown. Therefore, the processor 122 does not need to send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123.

[0101] Through the above method, the processor 122 can effectively distinguish whether the situation where the voltage value across the driving resistor R is greater than the aforementioned voltage threshold is caused by the soft breakdown of the slow-start switch tube Q, thereby avoiding the processor 122 from erroneously sending an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123 when the slow-start switch tube Q is turned on, thereby enabling the alarm 123 to generate a more accurate alarm signal.

[0102] Since the gate current value increases slowly over time after the soft breakdown occurs, the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R also increases slowly. Therefore, the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R represents the time after the soft breakdown occurs. For example, the larger the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R, the longer the time after the soft breakdown occurs, the shorter the time to the hard breakdown of the slow-start switch tube Q, and the higher the risk of sudden power failure of the computing device.

[0103] Therefore, in some embodiments, the user can pre-set several voltage value intervals according to the resistance value of the gate drive resistor R and the range of the gate current value after the soft breakdown occurs, and the value range of each voltage value interval is different. At the same time, the same number of alarm trigger signals and the same number of alarm signals can also be pre-set, and the levels of each alarm trigger signal are different, and the levels of each alarm signal are also different. A one-to-one correspondence between the voltage value interval and the alarm trigger signal, and a one-to-one correspondence between the alarm trigger signal and the alarm signal are pre-established.

[0104] The processor 122 can determine the voltage value interval in which the voltage value is located according to the voltage value at both ends of the gate drive resistor R, and send an alarm trigger signal of the corresponding level according to the voltage value interval. After receiving the alarm trigger signal, the alarm 123 can send an alarm signal of the corresponding level according to the level of the alarm trigger signal. The user can judge the severity of the current alarm according to the level of the alarm signal. In detail, the larger the voltage value at both ends of the gate drive resistor R, the higher the level of the alarm trigger signal corresponding to the voltage value interval to which it belongs, and the higher the level of the alarm signal.

[0105] For example, the gate drive resistor R has a resistance of 10 ohms, and the gate current value after soft breakdown ranges from 1uA to 5uA. The user can pre-set three intervals. The first interval is 10uV to 20uV, and the corresponding gate current value is 1uA to 2uA. The second interval is 20uV to 30uV, and the corresponding gate current value is 2uA to 3uA. The third interval is above 30uV, and the corresponding gate current value is above 3uA.

[0106] After determining that the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R is greater than the aforementioned voltage threshold, the processor 122 can compare the voltage value across the gate drive resistor R with the above three intervals to determine which interval the voltage value falls into. Specifically, if the voltage value is 12uV, the processor R can determine that the voltage value falls into the first interval, and therefore can send a low-level alarm trigger signal corresponding to the first interval to the alarm 123. If the voltage value is 25uV, the processor R can determine that the voltage value falls into the second interval, and therefore can send a medium-level alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123. If the voltage value is 43uV, the processor R can determine that the voltage value falls into the third interval, and therefore can send a high-level alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123.

[0107] In an example, the low-level alarm trigger signal may be a digital signal 00, the medium-level alarm trigger signal may be a digital signal 01, and the high-level alarm trigger signal may be a digital signal 10.

[0108] When the alarm 123 receives a low-level alarm trigger signal, it can send out a low-level alarm signal corresponding to the low-level alarm trigger signal. Similarly, when the alarm 123 receives a medium-level alarm trigger signal, it can send out a medium-level alarm signal corresponding to the medium-level alarm trigger signal. When the alarm 123 receives a high-level alarm trigger signal, it can send out a high-level alarm signal corresponding to the high-level alarm trigger signal. The user can determine the risk of a sudden power outage of the computing device based on the level of the alarm signal sent by the alarm 123.

[0109] Exemplarily, when the alarm 123 receives a low-level alarm trigger signal, it can control the alarm light to emit a green light alarm signal. When the alarm 123 receives a medium-level alarm trigger signal, it can control the alarm light to emit a yellow light alarm signal. When the alarm 123 receives a high-level alarm trigger signal, it can control the alarm light to emit a red light alarm signal. In this way, the user can intuitively and clearly judge the length of time after the soft breakdown of the slow-start switch tube Q occurs based on the color of the alarm light signal, and thus can infer the risk of a sudden power outage in the computing device.

[0110] Different from the method of using the voltage value across the gate drive resistor to represent the gate current value in the aforementioned embodiment, in another embodiment of the present application, a current sensor and an analog-to-digital converter can also be used to obtain the gate current value of the slow-start switch tube Q in real time. Thereafter, the gate current value and the preset current value can be compared. When the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, it indicates that the gate oxide layer of the MOSFET has undergone a soft breakdown, and thus an alarm signal can be issued to prompt the computing device of an impending power outage.

[0111] Specifically, Figure 5FIG. 1 shows a circuit connection diagram of a mainboard provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 As shown, the mainboard 2 may include a soft start circuit 21 and a monitoring circuit 22 .

[0112] Different from the slow start circuit 11 in the aforementioned embodiment, the gate of the slow start switch tube Q in the slow start circuit 21 in the embodiment of the present application is provided with an interface that can be connected to the current sensor 124. The other structures of the slow start circuit 21 are the same as those of the slow start circuit 11 in the aforementioned embodiment, and the working principle of the slow start circuit 21 is the same as that of the slow start circuit 11 in the aforementioned embodiment. For the specific contents, please refer to the previous related description, which will not be described in detail here.

[0113] Different from the monitoring circuit 12 in the aforementioned embodiment, the monitoring circuit 22 in the embodiment of the present application further includes a current sensor 124. The analog-to-digital converter 121 in the aforementioned embodiment is electrically connected to both ends of the gate drive resistor R, while the analog-to-digital converter 121 in the embodiment of the present application is electrically connected to the measurement result output end of the current sensor 124.

[0114] The current sensor 124 is connected in series with the gate drive resistor R, so the gate current of the slow-start switch tube Q flows through the current sensor 124. The measurement result output terminal of the current sensor 124 can be electrically connected to the analog-to-digital converter 121, and the numerical value of the measurement result signal (specifically, a voltage signal) output by the current sensor 124 is used to characterize the gate current value of the slow-start switch tube Q.

[0115] It should be noted that Figure 5 The series connection sequence of the current sensor 124 and the gate drive resistor R in FIG. 1 is only an example, and the sequence of the two can be swapped.

[0116] The current sensor 124 can be an electronic current sensor or an electromagnetic current sensor. The Hall current sensor is a more commonly used electronic current sensor. The working principle of the Hall current sensor is explained below. The Hall current sensor uses the Hall magnetic balance principle to achieve current measurement. The specific implementation method is to first input the measured current at the control current end of the Hall element (the measured current here is the gate current), and then apply a magnetic field in the normal direction of the plane of the Hall element. Then an electric potential will be generated at the output end of the Hall element, called the Hall potential. The waveform of the Hall potential is consistent with the input current, so it can be used to characterize the change of the measured current.

[0117] After the analog-to-digital converter 121 obtains the measurement result signal output by the current sensor, it can perform analog-to-digital conversion processing to obtain the gate current value. Then, the analog-to-digital converter 121 can send the measured gate current value to the processor 122.

[0118] The user can determine the current threshold in advance based on the gate current value before the soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q and the initial gate current value after the soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q. In an example, the gate current value before the soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q is 10nA, and the initial gate current value after the soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q is 1uA. The current threshold can be set to a voltage value between 10nA and 1uA, such as 0.1uA.

[0119] After receiving the gate current value sent by the analog-to-digital converter 121, the processor 122 can compare the gate current value with the aforementioned current threshold to determine whether the gate current value is greater than the aforementioned current threshold. If the gate current value is less than the aforementioned current threshold, it indicates that the gate current value of the slow-start switch tube Q is normal, and the gate oxide layer has not undergone soft breakdown. If the voltage value is greater than the aforementioned voltage threshold, it indicates that the gate current of the slow-start switch tube Q is too large, and the gate oxide layer has undergone soft breakdown. In this way, the processor 122 can send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123, so that the alarm 123 can send an alarm signal to the user in a timely manner.

[0120] Since the difference between the embodiment of the present application and the aforementioned embodiment is only that the voltage value across the gate driving resistor is used to represent the gate current value in the aforementioned embodiment, while the current sensor 124 is used to directly obtain the gate current value in the embodiment of the present application, the other contents in the aforementioned embodiment are also applicable to the embodiment of the present application after adaptive modification, and will not be described in detail here.

[0121] It is to be understood that the structure of the monitoring circuit 12 illustrated in the embodiment of the present application does not constitute a specific limitation on the mainboard 1 and the monitoring circuit 12. In other embodiments of the present application, the mainboard 1 and the monitoring circuit 12 may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or split certain components, or arrange the components differently. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The same is true for the structure of the mainboard 2 and the structure of the monitoring circuit 22 illustrated in the embodiment of the present application.

[0122] The above is an introduction to the structure of the mainboard 1 and the monitoring circuit 12 provided in the embodiment of the present application. Next, based on the above content, a slow start circuit monitoring method provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced. It can be understood that this method is another expression form of the above-mentioned slow start circuit monitoring scheme, and the specific implementation process of this method can refer to the relevant description above.

[0123] For example, Figure 6The flowchart of a slow start circuit monitoring method provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. The slow start circuit monitoring method provided by the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the monitoring circuit 12 on the mainboard 1 or the monitoring circuit 22 on the mainboard 2. Figure 6 As shown, the slow start circuit monitoring method may include the following steps:

[0124] S601, obtaining the gate current value of the switch tube.

[0125] In this step, the monitoring circuit can obtain the gate current value of the slow-start switch tube Q in the slow-start circuit.

[0126] S602: Determine whether soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer based on the gate current value.

[0127] Since the gate current value of the slow-start switch tube Q will suddenly increase when soft breakdown occurs, the monitoring circuit can determine whether the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q has soft breakdown according to the gate current value.

[0128] S603: When soft breakdown of the gate oxide layer occurs, an alarm signal is issued.

[0129] After determining that the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q has undergone soft breakdown, the monitoring circuit can promptly issue an alarm signal to remind the user of the risk of sudden power failure of the computing device, thereby ensuring the safe use of the computing device.

[0130] In some embodiments, determining whether a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer based on the gate current value (step S602) may include: determining whether the gate current value is greater than a preset current value; wherein the preset current value is greater than a first current value and less than a second current value; the first current value is the gate current value before the soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer of the switch tube, and the second current value is the initial gate current value after the soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer of the switch tube; when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, it is determined that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. In this embodiment, the monitoring circuit can determine whether the gate current value is greater than the preset current value by comparing the gate current value with the preset current value. If it is greater than, it indicates that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. If it is less than, it indicates that the gate oxide layer has not soft breakdown.

[0131] In some embodiments, when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, determining that the gate oxide layer has undergone soft breakdown may include: when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, determining whether the duration of the gate current value being greater than the preset current value is greater than the preset duration; when the duration of the gate current value being greater than the preset current value is greater than the preset duration, determining that the gate oxide layer has undergone soft breakdown. In this embodiment, when the monitoring circuit determines that the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, it may further determine whether the duration of the gate current value being greater than the preset current value is greater than the preset duration. If it is greater than, it indicates that the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q has undergone soft breakdown. If it is less than, it indicates that the gate oxide layer of the slow-start switch tube Q has not undergone soft breakdown. In this way, the monitoring circuit can avoid erroneously issuing an alarm signal when the slow-start switch tube Q is turned on and in the on-state stage.

[0132] In some embodiments, the monitoring circuit may be the monitoring circuit 12 in the aforementioned embodiment. The method for monitoring the slow-start circuit specifically includes: the analog-to-digital converter 121 acquires a first voltage value; wherein the first voltage value is a voltage value across the driving resistor R; the processor 122 receives the first voltage value sent by the analog-to-digital converter 121; when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value, an alarm trigger signal is sent to the alarm 123; wherein the preset voltage value is determined according to the driving resistor R and a preset current value; the alarm 123 sends an alarm signal when receiving the alarm trigger signal. In this embodiment, the analog-to-digital converter 121 may acquire a voltage value across the driving resistor R. Then, the processor 122 may compare the voltage value with the preset voltage value. If the voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, it indicates that the slow-start switch tube Q has a soft breakdown, and therefore an alarm trigger signal may be sent to the alarm 123. After receiving the alarm trigger signal, the alarm 123 may send an alarm signal to remind the user of the risk of sudden power failure of the computing device.

[0133] In other embodiments, the monitoring circuit can also be the monitoring circuit 22 in the aforementioned embodiment. The slow start circuit monitoring method provided in this embodiment includes: the current sensor 124 generates a measurement result signal corresponding to the gate current; the analog-to-digital converter 121 obtains the measurement result signal, and performs analog-to-digital conversion on the measurement result signal to obtain the gate current value; the processor 122 obtains the gate current value, and sends an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123 when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value. This embodiment can obtain the gate current value of the slow start switch tube Q through the current sensor and the analog-to-digital converter 121. The processor 122 compares the gate current value with the preset current value to determine whether the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown. If soft breakdown occurs, an alarm trigger signal can be sent to the alarm 123, so that the alarm 123 can promptly send an alarm signal for prompting the user to ensure the safe use of the computing device.

[0134] In some embodiments, the monitoring circuit may be the monitoring circuit 12 in the aforementioned embodiment, and when the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, the monitoring circuit sends an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123, including: when the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, determining whether the duration of the first voltage value being greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration; if the duration of the first voltage value being greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration, sending an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123. In this embodiment, when the processor 122 determines that the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, it may further determine whether the duration of the gate voltage value being greater than the preset voltage value is greater than the preset duration. If it is greater than, it indicates that the slow-start switch tube Q has a soft breakdown. If it is less than, it indicates that the slow-start switch tube Q has not a soft breakdown. In this way, the monitoring circuit can avoid erroneously sending an alarm signal when the slow-start switch tube Q is turned on and in the conduction state. Similarly, in other embodiments, the monitoring circuit may also be the monitoring circuit 22 in the aforementioned embodiment, and its execution method is similar to that in the aforementioned embodiment, and will not be described in detail here.

[0135] In some embodiments, the monitoring circuit may be the monitoring circuit 12 in the aforementioned embodiment, and sending an alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123 may include: determining the first voltage value interval to which the first voltage value belongs; the first voltage value interval is one of multiple voltage value intervals; determining the first alarm trigger signal corresponding to the first voltage value interval; the first alarm trigger signal is one of multiple alarm trigger signals; sending the first alarm trigger signal to the alarm 123; accordingly, the alarm 123 sends an alarm signal when receiving the alarm trigger signal, which may include: the alarm 123 sends a first alarm signal corresponding to the first alarm trigger signal when receiving the first alarm trigger signal; the first alarm signal is one of multiple alarm signals. In this embodiment, the user can judge the length of time after the soft breakdown of the slow-start switch tube Q according to the level of the first alarm signal sent by the alarm 123, so as to infer the risk of sudden power failure of the computing device. Similarly, in other embodiments, the monitoring circuit may also be the monitoring circuit 22 in the aforementioned embodiment, and its execution method is similar to the content in the aforementioned embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

[0136] In some embodiments, the analog-to-digital converter 121 and the processor 122 are integrated together, or the analog-to-digital converter 121 and the processor 122 are independent of each other. When the two are independent of each other, the analog-to-digital converter 121 and the processor 122 can be connected via a communication connection line.

[0137] In some embodiments, the driving resistor R is a precision resistor. When a precision resistor is used as the gate driving resistor R, the voltage value across the gate driving resistor R can more accurately represent the gate current value, so that the alarm 123 can generate an alarm signal more accurately.

[0138] The present application provides a computing device. The computing device includes a switching power supply and a mainboard, wherein the switching power supply is electrically connected to the mainboard. The output end of the switching power supply is electrically connected to the input end of a slow start circuit in the mainboard. The mainboard may be Figure 4 Motherboard 1 or Figure 5 The motherboard 2 in the switch power supply is Figure 4 or Figure 5 The switching power supply in.

[0139] A computer-readable storage medium is also provided in an embodiment of the present application, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed in a processor, the processor is used to: obtain a gate current value of the switch tube, and send an alarm trigger signal to an alarm when the gate current value is greater than a preset current value, or obtain a first voltage value across the driving resistor, and send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value.

[0140] A computer program product is also provided in an embodiment of the present application. The computer program product stores instructions. When the instructions are executed by a processor, the processor is used to: obtain a gate current value of the switch tube, and send an alarm trigger signal to an alarm when the gate current value is greater than a preset current value, or obtain a first voltage value across the driving resistor, and send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value.

[0141] It is understandable that the size of the sequence number of each step in the above embodiment does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application. In addition, in some possible implementations, each step in the above embodiment can be selectively executed according to actual conditions, and can be partially executed or fully executed, which is not limited here.

[0142] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0143] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC.

[0144] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted through the computer-readable storage medium. The computer instructions may be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0145] It should be understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only used for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A motherboard, characterized in that: The mainboard includes a slow start circuit and a monitoring circuit; wherein the slow start circuit includes a switch tube, and the switch tube is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect tube; The gate of the switch tube is electrically connected to the input end of the monitoring circuit; The monitoring circuit is used to: Obtaining a gate current value of the switch tube; Based on the gate current value, determining whether a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer; When soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer, an alarm signal is issued.

2. The mainboard according to claim 1, characterized in that: The monitoring circuit is used to determine whether a soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer based on the gate current value, and includes: The monitoring circuit is used to: Determine whether the gate current value is greater than a preset current value; wherein the preset current value is greater than a first current value and less than a second current value; the first current value is a gate current value before a soft breakdown occurs in a gate oxide layer of the switch tube, and the second current value is an initial gate current value after a soft breakdown occurs in a gate oxide layer of the switch tube; When the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, it is determined that soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer.

3. The mainboard according to claim 2, characterized in that: The monitoring circuit is used to determine that the gate oxide layer has soft breakdown when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, including: The monitoring circuit is used to: In the case where the gate current value is greater than the preset current value, determining whether a duration for which the gate current value is greater than the preset current value is greater than a preset duration; When the gate current value is greater than the preset current value for a duration greater than the preset duration, it is determined that soft breakdown occurs in the gate oxide layer.

4. The mainboard according to claim 2, characterized in that: The soft start circuit also includes a driving resistor; the monitoring circuit includes an analog-to-digital converter, a processor and an alarm; The gate of the switch tube is connected in series with the driving resistor; The first input terminal and the second input terminal of the analog-to-digital converter are electrically connected to the two ends of the driving resistor respectively; the output terminal of the analog-to-digital converter is electrically connected to the processor; the processor is also electrically connected to the alarm; The analog-to-digital converter is used to obtain a first voltage value; wherein the first voltage value is a voltage value across the driving resistor; The processor is used to receive a first voltage value sent by the analog-to-digital converter; when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value, send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm; wherein the preset voltage value is determined according to the driving resistance and the preset current value; The alarm is used to send out an alarm signal when receiving the alarm trigger signal.

5. The mainboard according to claim 4, characterized in that: The processor is used to send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm device when the first voltage value is greater than a preset voltage value, including: The processor is specifically used for: In the case where the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value, determining whether a duration for which the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value is greater than a preset duration; If the first voltage value is greater than the preset voltage value for a duration greater than the preset duration, an alarm trigger signal is sent to the alarm.

6. The mainboard according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The soft start circuit also includes a driving resistor; the monitoring circuit includes a current sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, a processor and an alarm; The gate of the switch tube, the driving resistor and the current sensor are connected in series; the first input terminal and the second input terminal of the analog-to-digital converter are electrically connected to the output terminal of the current sensor respectively; The current sensor is used to generate a measurement result signal corresponding to the gate current; The analog-to-digital converter is used to obtain the measurement result signal and perform analog-to-digital conversion on the measurement result signal to obtain the gate current value; The processor is used to obtain the gate current value, and send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm when the gate current value is greater than the preset current value.

7. The mainboard according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The processor is used to send an alarm trigger signal to the alarm device, including: The processor is used to: Determine a first voltage value interval to which the first voltage value belongs; the first voltage value interval is one of a plurality of voltage value intervals; Determine a first alarm trigger signal corresponding to the first voltage value interval; the first alarm trigger signal is one of multiple alarm trigger signals; Sending a first alarm trigger signal to the alarm; The alarm device is used to send out an alarm signal when receiving the alarm trigger signal, including: The alarm is used to send out a first alarm signal corresponding to the first alarm trigger signal when the first alarm trigger signal is received; the first alarm signal is one of multiple alarm signals.

8. The mainboard according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that: The analog-to-digital converter and the processor are integrated together, or the analog-to-digital converter and the processor are independent of each other.

9. The mainboard according to any one of claims 4 to 8, characterized in that: The driving resistor is a precision resistor.

10. A computing device, characterized in that The computing device comprises a switching power supply and a mainboard as described in any one of claims 1 to 9; the switching power supply is electrically connected to the mainboard; and the output end of the switching power supply is electrically connected to the input end of the slow start circuit.

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