US Patent 7123060 Drive circuit for a switching element

A drive circuit applies a drive voltage through an outputs terminal to a switching element. The drive circuit includes a supplying circuit, an amplifying circuit, a detecting circuit, and an adjusting circuit. In response to a control signal, the supplying circuit generates a first drive current. The amplifying circuit generates and applies a second drive current, which is larger than the first drive current, to the output terminal for changing the drive voltage. The detecting circuit is coupled to the output terminal for generating a detection signal representative of the drive voltage. Based on the detection signal, the adjusting circuit implemented by a differential comparator dynamically adjusts the first drive current.