Patent ID: 6836173
Filing Date: 2004-12-28
Classification: H03K

Abstract:
A driver, comprising:a high-side transistor; a low-side transistor coupled to the high-side transistor; a floating-ground terminal, connected to a source of said high-side transistor; a floating-supply terminal, for providing a floating voltage for the high-side transistor driver; a charge-pump diode, having a cathode connected to said floating-supply terminal, wherein an anode of said charge-pump diode is supplied with a bias voltage; a bootstrap capacitor, connected in series with said charge-pump diode, wherein a negative terminal of said bootstrap capacitor is connected to said floating-ground terminal, and wherein a positive terminal of said bootstrap capacitor is connected to said floating-supply terminal; a p-transistor, having a source connected to said floating-supply terminal, an n-transistor, having a source connected to said floating-ground terminal, wherein a gate of said n-transistor is connected to a gate of said p-transistor, wherein a drain of said n-transistor forms a junction with a drain of said p-transistor, and wherein the voltage at said junction drives a gate of said high-side transistor; and a current sink, connected from the gate of said n-transistor to said floating-ground terminal, for continuously sinking current.