Abstract:
A galvanic-isolated coupling of circuit portions is accomplished on the basis of a stacked chip configuration. The semiconductor chips (200A,200B) thus can be fabricated on the basis of any appropriate process technology, thereby incorporating one or more coupling elements (220A,220B), such as primary or secondary coils of a micro transformer, wherein the final characteristics of the micro transformer are adjusted during the wafer bond process.
Abstract:
The wireless galvanic isolator device is formed by a transmitter circuit (31), a receiver circuit (32), and a wireless coupling structure, arranged between the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit (32). The wireless coupling structure is formed by a pair of antennas (33a, 33b) each arranged on an own die (25, 26) and integrated together with the respective transmitter and receiver circuit (31, 32). The two dice can be arranged adjacent to each other in a planar configuration or arranged on top of each other and bonded together.
Abstract:
A novel protection technique and its circuital implementation are presented, which prevent load-mismatch-induced failure in solid-state power amplifiers. In radio- and microwave-frequency power amplifiers, the load voltage standing-wave ratio results in very high voltage peaks at the collector of the final stage (Q 3 ) and may eventually lead to permanent failure of the power transistor due to avalanche breakdown. The proposed solution avoids the risk of breakdown by attenuating the input power to the final stage (Q 3 ) during overvoltage conditions, thus limiting the output collector swing. This is accomplished by means of a feedback control system, which detects the peak voltage at the output collector node and clamps its value to a given threshold by varying the circuit gain. Indeed, the control loop is unlocked in nominal condition and it acts only when an output mismatching condition is detected. Moreover, a newly proposed control circuit allows a supply-independent collector-clamping threshold to be accurately set.