US 12,081,207 B2
Passive discharge circuit for bidirectional semiconductor switches
Kennith Kin Leong, Villach (AT); Gerhard Maderbacher, Gleisdorf (AT); and Herwig Wappis, Villach (AT)
Assigned to Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Villach (AT)
Filed by Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Villach (AT)
Filed on Jan. 20, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/099,639.
Prior Publication US 2024/0250681 A1, Jul. 25, 2024
Int. Cl. H03K 17/56 (2006.01)
CPC H03K 17/56 (2013.01) 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a semiconductor body comprising an active region and a substrate region beneath the active region;
a bidirectional switch comprising first and second gate structures configured to control a conductive state of a channel in the active region, and first and second input-output terminals electrically connected to the channel;
a first passive cascode circuit configured to block a voltage between the first input-output terminal and the substrate region and activate a discharge path between the substrate region and the second input-output terminal, when the bidirectional switch is in an off-state and the first input-output terminal is at a higher potential than the second input-output terminal; and
a second passive cascode circuit configured to block a voltage between the second input-output terminal and the substrate region and activate a discharge path between the substrate region and the first input-output terminal, when the bidirectional switch is in the off-state and the second input-output terminal is at a higher potential than the first input-output terminal.