Patent ID: 7068082

Claim:
A gate driving circuit comprising: an output circuit which is connected to a first power supply terminal and a ground terminal and, upon receiving an ON/OFF signal, changes a level of a gate output terminal between a power supply voltage and a ground voltage; a shunt switching element which is connected between the gate output terminal and the ground terminal and is ON/OFF-controlled upon receiving a shunt control signal; and an output shunt control circuit which monitors the level of the gate output terminal and outputs the shunt control signal, wherein said output shunt control circuit comprises: a threshold value setting circuit which has first and second P-channel transistors whose sources and drains are connected in series between a second power supply terminal and a first node, and first and second N-channel transistors whose drains and sources are connected in series between the first node and the ground terminal, a third P-channel transistor whose source and drain are connected in series between a third power supply terminal and a second node, and a third N-channel transistor whose drain and source are connected in series between the second node and the ground terminal, and a third resistor connected in series between the second node and the first node, wherein a gate of said first P-channel transistor and a gate of said first N-channel transistor are connected to the gate output terminal, a signal having a logic opposite to that of the shunt control signal is supplied to a gate of said second P-channel transistor and a gate of said second N-channel transistor, a signal having the same logic as that of the shunt control signal is supplied to a gate of said third P-channel transistor and a gate of said third N-channel transistor, and a monitor signal is output from the first node, and a logic circuit which executes logic calculation upon receiving the monitor signal and the ON/OFF signal and outputs the shunt control signal.