Patent ID: 7777370

Claim:
An isolated Gate Driver for interfacing with a gating signal to a high Power Device comprising: a single transformer with a single interface for Power, Gating Signal and Diagnostics; the transformer having its secondary winding in a hermetically sealed package that also contains the high Power device and the Gate Driver; the transformer having its primary winding outside of the sealed package; a gating signal, power and diagnostics decoding block being connected to the primary winding of the transformer; the gating signal, power and diagnostics decoding block being outside of the sealed package; the gating signal, power and diagnostics decoding block a transmitting power and gating signal and encoding diagnostics, with waveforms having unequal amplitudes and pulse-widths, yet balanced in terms of Volts-seconds the waveforms having pulses with their positive voltage amplitude differing from their negative voltage amplitude and said pulses differing in pulse width from one another as a function of a difference between their respective positive voltage amplitudes and their respective negative voltage amplitudes; wherein a pulse having its positive voltage amplitude higher than its negative voltage amplitude has its negative voltage pulse width greater than its positive voltage pulse width; wherein a pulse having its negative voltage amplitude higher than its positive voltage amplitude has its positive voltage pulse width greater than its negative voltage pulse width; wherein the waveforms can be differentiated by frequency, amplitude and pulse width, any combination of which may be used to ensure correct decoding; and wherein a volt-second product of successive pulses is balanced.