Method of Kelvin current sense in a semiconductor package

Abstract

Sensing current flowing through a semiconductor device includes providing an input pin to receive an input, providing an output pin coupled to a predefined voltage source, providing a control pin to receive a control signal for controlling a flow of current between the output pin and the input pin, and electrically coupling a Kelvin sense pin to an output pad located on a semiconductor die of the device. An electrical path from the output pad to the output pin has a predefined resistance. The current is Kelvin current sensed using the predefined resistance. A flow of an output current provided to a load coupled to the device is interrupted when a value of the current is greater than a predefined value.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an information handling system having an improved power supply, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating additional details of a direct current-to-direct current (DC-DC) converter described with reference to FIG. 1, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating additional details of a semiconductor switch described with reference to FIG. 2, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4A illustrates a pin/pad layout arrangement for a semiconductor device packaged as a small outline integrated circuit, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4B illustrates a pin/pad layout arrangement for a semiconductor device packaged as a flip-leaded molded package (FLMP), according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for sensing current flowing through a semiconductor device, according to an embodiment.

Claims

1. A method for sensing current flowing through a semiconductor device, the method comprising: providing an input pin to receive an input;providing an output pin coupled to a predefined voltage source;providing a control pin to receive a control signal for controlling a flow of current between the output pin and the input pin; andelectrically coupling a Kelvin sense pin to an output pad located on a semiconductor die of the device, wherein an electrical path from the output pad to the output pin has a predefined resistance, wherein the current is Kelvin current sensed using the predefined resistance and wherein a flow of an output current provided to a load coupled to the device is interrupted when a value of the current is greater than a predefined value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor device is one of a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), a metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), a gate turn-off thyristor (GTO), a mosfet controlled thyristor (MCT), a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR), and a junction field effect transistor (JFET).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined resistance has a lower variance compared to a variance of an internal semiconductor on (SON) resistance that is dependent on the semiconductor properties.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the lower variance provides an improved accuracy of sensing the current compared to an accuracy of sensing the current with the SON resistance.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a flow of an output current provided to a load coupled to the device is interrupted when a value of the current is greater than a predefined value.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising: measuring voltage across the electrical path to sense the current.