Switching a voltage higher than Vgs MOSFET

Question

In order to drive a voltage higher than the M1 Vgs, I think that limiting the Vgs voltage with a zener diode could be a good idea. It will be only switched once per minute. By this I mean that high frequencies are not needed.

M1 - main MOSFET. D1 - used to protect Vgs overvoltage. R1 - used to charge GS (to switch off M1 if M2 is open). R2 - used to limit the current through the zener.

M2 - used to drive M2 gate. R4 - used to pull-down switch off M2 during 3V3 signal is open drain.

Could be the following circuit a good aproach?

^{simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab}

Answer 1

The zener diode is a pretty much standard solution for this, it should work fine.

Only major issue I can see in your schematic is M2, it requires too high gate voltage to be used with 3V3 control (threshold voltage of <4 V). But with another model transistor, no problem.

I'd use a slightly lower voltage zener diode, 12V or so, to have some extra margin if maximum Vgs of M1 is 20V. You could also use a slightly higher value of R2, to get a bit lower current and thus use a smaller (lower power rating) resistor for that.