Patent ID: 11862630
Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AUSTRIA AG
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a main bi-directional switch formed on a semiconductor substrate and comprising first and second gates, a first source electrically connected to a first voltage terminal, a second source electrically connected to a second voltage terminal, and a common drain; and
a discharge circuit comprising a plurality of individual transistors or an auxiliary bi-directional switch monolithically integrated with the main bi-directional switch and connected in a common source configuration to the semiconductor substrate, the plurality of individual transistors or the auxiliary bi-directional switch comprising a first drain connected to the first source of the main bi-directional switch, a second drain connected to the second source of the main bi-directional switch, and first and second gates each decoupled from gate drive circuitry,
wherein the first and the second gates of the discharge circuit are controlled at least passively to switch the plurality of individual transistors or the auxiliary bi-directional switch from an off state to an on state and discharge the semiconductor substrate, based on a state of the main bi-directional switch.