11-210
Application Note 9301
The result of combining one channel of the ICL7667 with the
output of the HV400 is an improved driver with the voltage
swing of a CMOS part and the large peak currents available
from BiPolar. During switching transitions, the HV400 pro-
vides most of the sinking/sourcing current until the output is
within 2V of the supply or ground. When the output is low,
the ICL7667 continues to discharge the power MOSFET
gate to ground after the HV400 SCR unlatches. It also pro-
vides a low impedance path to ground to keep the power
MOSFET off in the presence of drain coupled noise or gate
leakage currents. When the output is high, the ICL7667 con-
tinues to charge the MOSFET gate to the supply voltage
minimizing MOSFET “on” resistance. Since most power
MOSFET gate energy is dissipated in the HV400, the
ICL7667 operates cooler minimizing the switching and delay
times. The maximum supply voltage is 15V limited by the
ICL7667.
The following figures illustrate the performance of the
HV400/ICL7667 combination. Figures 3 and 4 show the
response with a 1nF capacitive load. Included for compari-
son is the response of the ICL7667 by itself. The low-to-high
transition (Figure 3) has a 30nS delay and a 15nS rise time.
The high-to-low transition (Figure 4) has a 10nS delay and a
14nS fall time. The HV-400 reduces the rise and fall times by
only a few nanoseconds.
Figures 5 and 6 are for the same conditions except the load
has been increased to 5nF. Here, the HV400 reduces the
rise time to about 50% of that of the ICL7667 alone and the
fall time is about 25%. The delay times are unchanged.
Figures 7 and 8 show the ICL7667/HV400 combination driv-
ing a 20nF load. From the dv/dt measurements, the peak
source current is about 3
1
/
3
A and the peak sink current is
about 8A.
Summary
A simple circuit combination of the HV400 and an ICL7667
MOSFET drivers results in a logic compatible driver with
large drive current capacity.
FIGURE 2. LOGIC LEVEL CIRCUIT
1
2
3
4
8
7
6
5
1
2
3
4
8
7
6
5
+15V
2
LOAD
+HV
ICL7667
HV-400