This application note discusses about HV Floating MOSGate Driver ICs. The gate drive requirements for a power MOSFET or IGBT utilized as a high-side switch driven in full enhancement can be summarized as follows. Gate voltage must be 10 V to 15 V higher than the source voltage. Being a high-side switch, such gate voltage would have to be higher than the rail voltage, which is frequently the highest voltage available in the system. The gate voltage must be controllable from the logic, which is normally referenced to ground. Thus, the control signals have to be level-shifted to the source of the high side power device, which, in most applications, swings between the two rails. The power absorbed by the gate drive circuitry should not significantly affect the overall efficiency.
The block diagram of the IRS2110 will be used to illustrate the typical structure of most MGDs; this is shown in the Figure. It comprises a drive circuit for a ground referenced power transistor, another for a high-side one, level translators and input logic circuitry.
