Patent ID: 8634218

Claim:
A monolithic integrated circuit (IC) fabricated on a substrate material, the monolithic IC for generating, from an ac input voltage, a regulated dc voltage between a first output node and a second output node, the monolithic IC comprising: a rectifier/regulator circuit coupled to receive the ac input voltage across first and second input terminals, the rectifier/regulator circuit including a first switching element that includes a first MOSFET and a first junction field-effect transistor (JFET) coupled in series between the first input terminal and the first output node, a second switching element that includes a second MOSFET and a second junction field-effect transistor (JFET) coupled in series between the second input terminal and the first output node, and first and second, body diodes each having an anode coupled to the second output node, a cathode of the first body diode being coupled to the first input terminal and a cathode of the second body diode being coupled to the second input terminal, a charging current alternately flowing through the first body diode when the second switching element is turned on and through the second body diode when the first switching element is turned on; and a sensor circuit coupled between the first output node and the second output node, the sensor circuit being operable to sense the regulated dc voltage and generate a feedback signal therefrom, the feedback signal being coupled to control the first and second switching elements, wherein the feedback signal turns off the first and second switching elements, thereby preventing the charging current from being provided to the first output node when the regulated dc voltage is above a target voltage, the feedback signal turning on the first and second switching elements, thereby providing the charging current to the first output node when the regulated dc voltage is below the target voltage.