Infineon launches radiation hardened buck controller with integrated gate drive
Infineon has announced the industry’s first radiation-hardened (rad-hard) buck controller with an integrated gate drive. Designed for Point of Load (PoL) power rails in commercial space systems and other extreme environments, the new device is particularly well-suited for distributed satellite power systems and digital processing payloads, including FPGA and ASIC systems.
The RIC70847 integrates a radiation hardened 17.1 V buck controller with a 5 V (output) half-bridge gate drive and is ideal for applications with a power input range of 4.75 V to 15 V and power output range of 0.6 V to 5.25 V. It is designed to work seamlessly with logic-level transistors, such as Infineon’s rad-hard R8 power FET. The device meets the MIL spec temperature range, -55°C to 125°C, and meets the stringent requirements of applications that demand a Total Ionising Dose (TID) rating of up to 100 krad (Si) and Single Event Effects (SEE) characterised up to a Linear Energy Transfer (LET) of 81.9 MeV·cm²/mg.
New technologies incorporated in the device include load line regulation and fixed frequency peak current mode control, which deliver transient response and reduce the required amount of output capacitors. High step-down voltage ratios, combined with the integrated 5 V half-bridge gate driver simplify the design process and minimise component count also resulting in a more compact and efficient power management design. The high level of integration also enhances system reliability and reduces the risk of component failure, ultimately providing a more robust and dependable solution for critical applications.
