A configurable High-Side/ low-Side Driver

A configurable high-side/low-side driver (HSD/LSD) is presented. The operating mode of this driver depends just upon external connection. The circuit incorporates improved protection circuitry using modified Zener diodes. These diodes are isolated, allowing large negative voltages at source and gate of the switch device. Together with an isolated output stage of the driving circuit, this results in high negative source and gate voltages for the HSD configuration, leading to faster switch-off. This integrated solution with fast and similar HSD/LSD switching times combines the advantages of integrated circuits and the discrete solutions that were used for fast switching HSD up to now, as well as the advantages of both HSD and LSD. Experimental results in a 0.35 mum BiCMOS technology show that the gate can drop as low as -28 V in the high-side configuration. In the low-side configuration, the drain can rise as high as 45 V. In further measurements the configurable driver shows an excellent behaviour both for high-side and low-side in a H-bridge motor driver.