DISCHARGE OF A DAMPING CAPACITOR

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a circuit (100) comprising: a supply terminal (102) configured to receive a supply voltage (104); a driver circuit (106) comprising: an input terminal (108) coupled to the supply terminal (102) to receive the supply voltage (104) as an input voltage for powering the operation of the driver circuit (106); and a current source (118) configured to draw current from the input terminal (108) through a load (119) coupled between the input terminal (108) and ground (117), wherein the load (119) has a series element coupled in series between the input terminal (108) and ground (117); and a damping capacitor (114) connected in parallel to the input terminal (108) and to ground (106), so that the damping capacitor (114) is charged by the supply voltage (104);wherein the driver circuit (106) further comprises an overvoltage detection circuit (126) which is configured to: determine a voltage value of the input voltage at the input terminal (108); and if the voltage value of the input voltage meets an overvoltage criterion, trigger a low-current operating mode of the current source (118) to allow a discharge of the damping capacitor (114) through the series element (120).