Geehy Integrates Bootstrap Diode into Half-Bridge Gate Driver

Gate drivers don't usually make headlines, but they're the reason a motor spins cleanly instead of fighting its own switching transients. Geehy has given engineers a reason to take notice by introducing a series of 200 V single-phase, high-speed half-bridge driver ICs with an integrated bootstrap diode, built-in dead-time control, and shoot-through prevention, housed in an SOP8 package.

GHD1441T gate-driver IC. Image used courtesy of Geehy Semiconductor

What the GHD144xT Is

The GHD144xT is a medium-voltage, high-speed gate driver IC designed to drive dual N-channel VDMOS or IGBT devices in half-bridge configurations. It supports a supply voltage range of 5.5 V to 20 V, accepts 3.3 V and 5 V logic inputs, and can handle a floating offset voltage up to +200 V, making it compatible with a wide range of motor control topologies without needing additional level-shifting circuitry.

The series comes in two variants: the GHD1440T, which uses non-inverting HIN/LIN inputs, and the GHD1441T, which uses phase-inverted inputs for designs where the controller outputs need to be flipped before reaching the power stage.

Simplified Design, Smaller BOM

A practical aspect of the GHD144xT is the integrated bootstrap diode. In most half-bridge designs, this diode is a small external component, but one more part to source, place, and potentially troubleshoot. Moving it on-chip simplifies the schematic and frees up a bit of PCB real estate.

The series is housed in a compact SOP8 package, one of the smallest footprints available for a dual-channel gate driver, which matters when the entire motor drive board has to fit inside a handheld housing or a compact motor assembly.

GHD144xT system block diagram. Image used courtesy of Geehy Semiconductor

The GHD144xT sources up to 1.6 A and sinks up to 1.3 A at 15 V. When driving a 3.3nF gate load, it achieves a 35 ns fall time and 55 ns rise time, which is fast enough to keep switching losses low in the motor drives it targets, without pushing it into EMI trouble.

The chip also offers high dv/dt immunity, meaning it remains stable when the voltage across the bridge rapidly swings, as occurs during fast switching in noisy motor environments.

Protection and Operating Range

Dead time is fixed at a typical 140 ns with built-in shoot-through prevention. That means the driver itself stops both switches from conducting at the same time without programming a delay in firmware logic or tuning an external RC network. For engineers prototyping quickly, this saves time and reduces verification effort.

The device also includes VCC and VBS undervoltage lockout, which shuts down the outputs if the supply rails drop below safe operating thresholds. The chip operates across -40°C to +105°C, meaning it works as well in a cold garage as it does in a motor running hot under load.

Geehy targets the GHD144xT for e-bikes, scooters, electric motorcycles, power tools, and other applications. These are all battery-powered, cost-sensitive, space-constrained products, exactly the kind of application where an integrated bootstrap diode in a compact package makes a real difference.

More information can be found on the GHD144xT product page.

Looking Ahead

The pressure on designers to shrink board area and reduce component count will only increase. A 200 V half-bridge driver that integrates its own bootstrap diode in an SOP8 package is a direct answer to that pressure.