I need to use a MOSFET driver in my circuit. I have read some MOSFET driver datasheets. As far as I have seen, always an N-MOSFET is used at the high side.
For example, consider FAN7842.
Typical application circuit from its datasheet:
And its functional block diagram is:
I have two questions:
1) Is it possible to use a P-MOSFET in the place of Q1 by modifying this circuit as little as possible?
2) Does using a P-MOSFET at the high side give any advantage (e.g.; lower voltage drop on Q1, better performance at lower switching voltages (switching DC voltage will vary between 0-200V in my application), etc)?
I considered inverting the "HIN" signal by a BJT and simply replacing Q1 by a P-MOSFET, but that way the \$V_{GS}\$ of Q1 will be very high at extreme cases which will destroy the MOSFET.
Best Answer
There definitely are PN half bridge drivers, and a pmos for the high side is fine nowadays for not very high power applications, but you need to get the correct driver for it (some have the PN fets integrated, like the FAN7093).
It used to be that they had much lower performance than their counterpart n-type mosfets, so the drivers were made to use n-type for the high and low sides. N-type still have better performance because of their nature of using electrons instead of holes for conduction (electrons have higher mobility), but not as severely as before. On the other hand, P-type mosfets don't need a charge pump.
Take a look at this application note from Vishay: P-Channel MOSFETs, the Best Choice for High-Side Switching
An EE-Times article also talks about this: A primer on high-side FET load switches