Patents by Inventor Benno Muehlbacher

Benno Muehlbacher has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240154583
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a circuit includes: a first super source follower; a compensation circuit having a compensating node configured to provide a voltage of opposite phase of a voltage of an internal node of the first super source follower; and a first compensation capacitor coupled between an input of the first super source follower and the compensating node of the compensation circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2024
    Publication date: May 9, 2024
    Inventors: Jose Luis Ceballos, Fulvio Ciciotti, Benno Muehlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Patent number: 11929719
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a circuit includes: a first super source follower; a compensation circuit having a compensating node configured to provide a voltage of opposite phase of a voltage of an internal node of the first super source follower; and a first compensation capacitor coupled between an input of the first super source follower and the compensating node of the compensation circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Jose Luis Ceballos, Fulvio CiCiotti, Benno Muehlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Publication number: 20230327614
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a circuit includes: a first super source follower; a compensation circuit having a compensating node configured to provide a voltage of opposite phase of a voltage of an internal node of the first super source follower; and a first compensation capacitor coupled between an input of the first super source follower and the compensating node of the compensation circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 6, 2022
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Inventors: Jose Luis Ceballos, Fulvio CiCiotti, Benno Muehlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Publication number: 20220417655
    Abstract: A differential MEMS-readout circuit comprises a first input bonding pad, including a first contact pin and a second contact pin. The differential MEMS-readout circuit comprises a second input bonding pad, including a first contact pin and a second contact pin; and a differential-readout amplifier section comprising a first input connected to the first contact pin of the first input bonding pad and a second input connected to the first contact pin of the second bonding pad, wherein the differential-readout amplifier section comprises a first and a second transistor circuit and each of the second contact pins of the first and second input bonding pads is coupled to one of the first and the second transistor circuits or is coupled to one of the first and the second transistor circuits and/or to ground.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2022
    Publication date: December 29, 2022
    Inventors: Benno Muehlbacher, Pedro Augusto Borrego Lambin Torres Amaral, Mohammed Hassan
  • Patent number: 10455330
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a method for operating a sensor is provided. The method includes intermittently generating an operating current in the sensor, generating a reactive current in the sensor when the operating current is not generated, and not generating the reactive current when the operating current is generated. A value of the reactive current is the same or approximately the same as a value of the operating current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Benno Muehlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Patent number: 10317252
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method of performing a measurement with a capacitive sensor includes generating a periodic excitation signal that includes a series of pulses and smoothing edge transitions of the series of pulses to form a shaped periodic excitation signal that includes a flat region between the smoothed edge transitions. The method further includes providing the shaped periodic excitation signal to a first port of the capacitive sensor and measuring a signal provided by a second port of the capacitive sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2019
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Andreas Wiesbauer, Christian Ebner, Ernesto Romani, Stephan Mechnig, Georgi Panov, Christian Jenkner, Benno Muehlbacher
  • Patent number: 10250999
    Abstract: A circuit for biasing a MEMS microphone includes a first group of serially-coupled transistors coupled between a first node and a second node, a second group of serially-coupled transistors coupled between the first node and the second node, and a voltage divider circuit coupled to the second node having a number of outputs, a first group of outputs being coupled to corresponding control nodes associated with the first group of serially-coupled transistors, and a second group of outputs different from the first group of outputs coupled to corresponding control nodes associated with the second group of serially-coupled transistors, the control nodes being either bulk nodes or gate nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Francesco Polo, Richard Gaggl, Benno Muehlbacher, Luca Valli
  • Publication number: 20190090066
    Abstract: A circuit for biasing a MEMS microphone includes a first group of serially-coupled transistors coupled between a first node and a second node, a second group of serially-coupled transistors coupled between the first node and the second node, and a voltage divider circuit coupled to the second node having a number of outputs, a first group of outputs being coupled to corresponding control nodes associated with the first group of serially-coupled transistors, and a second group of outputs different from the first group of outputs coupled to corresponding control nodes associated with the second group of serially-coupled transistors, the control nodes being either bulk nodes or gate nodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2017
    Publication date: March 21, 2019
    Inventors: Francesco Polo, Richard Gaggl, Benno Muehlbacher, Luca Valli
  • Patent number: 10177569
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a power compensation circuit is configured to be coupled to a power supply. The power compensation circuit includes a measurement circuit and a compensation circuit. The measurement circuit is configured to receive a power supply signal from the power supply, and determine a variation of the power supply signal. The compensation circuit is coupled to the measurement circuit and configured to generate a compensation power consumption based on the variation of the power supply signal, where the compensation power consumption is controlled inversely with the variation of the power supply signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Elmar Bach, Benno Mühlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Patent number: 10171916
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a circuit includes a high-? resistor including a plurality of semiconductor junction devices coupled in series and a plurality of additional capacitances formed in parallel with the plurality of semiconductor junction devices. Each semiconductor junction device of the plurality of semiconductor junction devices includes a parasitic doped well capacitance configured to insert a parasitic zero in a noise transfer function of the high-? resistor. Each additional capacitance of the plurality of additional capacitances is configured to adjust a parasitic pole in the noise transfer function of the high-? resistor in order to compensate for the parasitic zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2019
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Luca Valli, Benno Muehlbacher, Richard Gaggl
  • Publication number: 20180146297
    Abstract: In various embodiments, a method for operating a sensor is provided. The method includes intermittently generating an operating current in the sensor, generating a reactive current in the sensor when the operating current is not generated, and not generating the reactive current when the operating current is generated. A value of the reactive current is the same or approximately the same as a value of the operating current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2017
    Publication date: May 24, 2018
    Inventors: Benno Muehlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Publication number: 20180090928
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a power compensation circuit is configured to be coupled to a power supply. The power compensation circuit includes a measurement circuit and a compensation circuit. The measurement circuit is configured to receive a power supply signal from the power supply, and determine a variation of the power supply signal. The compensation circuit is coupled to the measurement circuit and configured to generate a compensation power consumption based on the variation of the power supply signal, where the compensation power consumption is controlled inversely with the variation of the power supply signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: Elmar Bach, Benno Mühlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer
  • Publication number: 20170318393
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a circuit includes a high-? resistor including a plurality of semiconductor junction devices coupled in series and a plurality of additional capacitances formed in parallel with the plurality of semiconductor junction devices. Each semiconductor junction device of the plurality of semiconductor junction devices includes a parasitic doped well capacitance configured to insert a parasitic zero in a noise transfer function of the high-? resistor. Each additional capacitance of the plurality of additional capacitances is configured to adjust a parasitic pole in the noise transfer function of the high-? resistor in order to compensate for the parasitic zero.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2016
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Inventors: Luca Valli, Benno Muehlbacher, Richard Gaggl
  • Patent number: 9806687
    Abstract: A signal amplification method includes receiving, from a capacitive sensor, a first input signal by a first control terminal of a first transistor, and a second input signal by a first control terminal of a second transistor. The method also includes producing a first output signal, including amplifying a first signal at a first load path terminal of the first transistor using a first inverting amplifier having an output coupled to a resistance network, and producing a second output signal, including amplifying a second signal at a first load path terminal of the second transistor using a second inverting amplifier having an output coupled to the resistance network. The method also includes feeding back the first and second output signal to a second load path terminal of the first transistor and to a second load path terminal of the second transistor via the resistance network according to a pre-determined fraction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Luca Valli, Benno Muehlbacher, Richard Gaggl
  • Publication number: 20170279425
    Abstract: A signal amplification method includes receiving, from a capacitive sensor, a first input signal by a first control terminal of a first transistor, and a second input signal by a first control terminal of a second transistor. The method also includes producing a first output signal, including amplifying a first signal at a first load path terminal of the first transistor using a first inverting amplifier having an output coupled to a resistance network, and producing a second output signal, including amplifying a second signal at a first load path terminal of the second transistor using a second inverting amplifier having an output coupled to the resistance network. The method also includes feeding back the first and second output signal to a second load path terminal of the first transistor and to a second load path terminal of the second transistor via the resistance network according to a pre-determined fraction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2016
    Publication date: September 28, 2017
    Inventors: Luca Valli, Benno Muehlbacher, Richard Gaggl
  • Publication number: 20160305997
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method of performing a measurement with a capacitive sensor includes generating a periodic excitation signal that includes a series of pulses and smoothing edge transitions of the series of pulses to form a shaped periodic excitation signal that includes a flat region between the smoothed edge transitions. The method further includes providing the shaped periodic excitation signal to a first port of the capacitive sensor and measuring a signal provided by a second port of the capacitive sensor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Publication date: October 20, 2016
    Inventors: Andreas Wiesbauer, Christian Ebner, Ernesto Romani, Stephan Mechnig, Georgi Panov, Christian Jenkner, Benno Muehlbacher
  • Patent number: 9319779
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, an interface circuit includes an amplifier configured to be coupled to a transducer, a first bypass circuit coupled to a first voltage reference and the amplifier, a second bypass circuit coupled to the first voltage reference and the amplifier, and a control circuit coupled to the second bypass circuit. The first bypass circuit conducts a current when an input signal amplitude greater than a first threshold is applied to the transducer and the control circuit causes the second bypass circuit to conduct a current for a first time period after the first bypass circuit conducts a current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2016
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Christian Jenkner, Richard Gaggl, Benno Muehlbacher
  • Publication number: 20150110296
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, an interface circuit includes an amplifier configured to be coupled to a transducer, a first bypass circuit coupled to a first voltage reference and the amplifier, a second bypass circuit coupled to the first voltage reference and the amplifier, and a control circuit coupled to the second bypass circuit. The first bypass circuit conducts a current when an input signal amplitude greater than a first threshold is applied to the transducer and the control circuit causes the second bypass circuit to conduct a current for a first time period after the first bypass circuit conducts a current.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Publication date: April 23, 2015
    Applicant: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Christian Jenkner, Richard Gaggl, Benno Muehlbacher
  • Patent number: 7750687
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement includes a first level shifter, an output stage, and a feedback circuit. The first level shifter is coupled to receive an input signal having a first voltage level from an input terminal, and is configured to provide a level-shifted signal having a second voltage level higher than the first voltage level. The output stage includes a first transistor that has a control terminal operably coupled to an output of the first level shifter. The output stage is configured to provide at an output terminal of the output stage an output signal based on the level-shifted signal. The feedback circuit is configured to feed back the output signal to the output of the first level shifter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Benno Mühlbacher, Andreas Wiesbauer, Martin Clara, Dieter Draxelmayr