What is the level-shift driver in high-voltage IPDs?

Figure 1 Example of a level-shift driver
Figure 1 Example of a level-shift driver

High-voltage IPDs receive control signals at up to 5 V from Hall-effect devices, Hall-effect sensors, and a control IC. The gate driver for the high-side device requires very high voltage equal to the sum of the high-voltage power supply (VBB) and the gate-source voltage. Because the low-voltage control signals cannot directly drive the high-side gate driver, high-voltage IPDs incorporate a level-shift driver to transfer the control signals from a low-voltage circuit to a high-voltage circuit.