ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a systematic approach to design high performance
gate drive circuits for high speed switching applications. It is an informative collection of topics offering
a “one-stop-shopping” to solve the most common design challenges. Thus it should be of interest to
power electronics engineers at all levels of experience.
The most popular circuit solutions and their performance are analyzed, including the effect of parasitic
components, transient and extreme operating conditions. The discussion builds from simple to more
complex problems starting with an overview of MOSFET technology and switching operation. Design
procedure for ground referenced and high side gate drive circuits, AC coupled and transformer isolated
solutions are described in great details. A special chapter deals with the gate drive requirements of the
MOSFETs in synchronous rectifier applications.
Several, step-by-step numerical design examples complement the paper.