US 11,955,956 B2
Semiconductor devices and circuits with increased breakdown voltage
Yi-An Lai, Taipei (TW); Chan-Hong Chern, Palo Alto, CA (US); and Cheng-Hsiang Hsieh, Taipei (TW)
Assigned to TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD., Hsinchu (TW)
Filed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd., Hsin-Chu (TW)
Filed on Jun. 8, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/835,688.
Prior Publication US 2023/0403001 A1, Dec. 14, 2023
Int. Cl. H02H 9/04 (2006.01); H03K 17/0812 (2006.01)
CPC H03K 17/08128 (2013.01) [H02H 9/04 (2013.01); H03K 17/08122 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A switching circuit comprising:
a main circuit comprising a plurality of first transistors and comprising a first node, a second node, and a third node, wherein the main circuit is operative in response to a control signal received by the first node, and the second node is configured to receive a supply voltage;
an auxiliary circuit electrically coupled to the second node of the main circuit and configured to provide surge protection for the main circuit, wherein the auxiliary circuit comprises a second transistor,
wherein a breakdown voltage of the second transistor is different than a breakdown voltage of each first transistor of the plurality of first transistors, and each first transistor of the plurality of first transistors comprises a first III-V based high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) and the second transistor comprises a second III-V based HEMT.