Patent ID: 7830196

Claim:
A semiconductor device comprising: a half bridge circuit including, a first semiconductor switching element disposed between a first voltage and an output node, the first semiconductor switching element being driven in response to a first control signal received; and a second semiconductor switching element connected between said output node and a second voltage lower than said first voltage, and to said first switching element in series, the second semiconductor switching element being driven in response to a second control signal received; and a first MOS transistor, associated with said first semiconductor switching element, connected in parallel to said first semiconductor switching element and receiving a third control signal to turn on/off, wherein said first MOS transistor is turned on in response to said third control signal for a period of time during which said first semiconductor switching element transitions from an on-state to an off-state in response to said first control signal, the semiconductor device further comprising a signal generation circuit that detects a predetermined surge voltage caused while said first semiconductor switching element switches from the on-state to the off-state in response to said first control signal, and outputs said third control signal to control said first MOS transistor, said signal generation circuit including, a comparator that compares a voltage generated based on said first and second voltages together with a reference voltage, and provides a result of said comparing; and a one-shot trigger pulse signal generation circuit driven by said result to generate a one-shot trigger pulse signal serving as said third control signal.