ACTIVE DISCHARGE OF AN ELECTRIC DRIVE SYSTEM

Systems, devices, and methods for active discharge of an electric drive system. In one implementation, an electric drive system for a vehicle includes an inverter having at least one phase leg, wherein a first of the phase legs includes a first power switch, a dc/dc converter configured to generate an internal supply voltage that is regulated with respect to a voltage on a rail configured to be coupled to a dc power supply, and a gate drive channel configured to drive the first power switch into conductance by applying a relatively high voltage difference derived from the internal supply voltage during operation of the vehicle and to continue the driving of the first power switch with a relatively lower voltage difference derived from the internal supply voltage after a signal indicating shut-down or fault of the vehicle. The dc/dc converter is configured to generate the internal supply voltage to have either a relatively high voltage difference with respect to the voltage on the rail or a relatively lower voltage difference with respect to the voltage on the rail.