Isolated gate drivers monitor and protect IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs
To save energy and protect high-voltage systems, Texas Instruments has introduced gate drivers that integrate monitoring and protection and which are claimed to improve total system efficiency in automotive and industrial applications
The UCC21710-Q1 and UCC21732-Q1 and UCC21750 isolated gate drivers enable designers to create smaller, more efficient and higher-performing designs in traction inverters, onboard chargers, solar inverters and motor drives.
They are believed to be the industry’s first to offer integrated sensing features for IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs to simplify designs and enable greater system reliability in applications operating up to 1.5kV rms, says Texas Instruments. Integrated components allow fast detection time to protect against overcurrent events while ensuring safe system shutdown.
The UCC21710-Q1, UCC21732-Q1 and UCC21750 use capacitive isolation technology, to maximise insulation barrier lifetimes, high reinforced isolation ratings, fast data speeds and high-density packaging.
Addressing system robustness in high-voltage motor drive and power delivery applications, the gate drivers using isolation technology and integrated features to enable engineers to more quickly ramp to production reliable systems, while minimising space and cost, maintains TI.
The high peak drive strength of ±10A maximises switching behaviour and reduces losses. Overcurrent detection of 200 nano seconds protects the system quickly.
To support the capacitive isolation technology and reinforced isolation ratings, the UCC217xx family has surge immunity up to 12.8kV. They are also claimed to ensure accurate data communication with common-mode transient immunity (CMTI) of more than 150V/nano seconds.
The gate drivers eliminate external components with integrated buffers and sensors and provide temperature, current or voltage sensing, with an isolated analogue to pulse width modulation sensor to simplify system-level diagnostics and prevent switch failures.
For industrial applications that need increased noise immunity and wider operating temperatures, TI has also introduced the UCC23513, an opto-compatible gate driver with 3A drive strength and 5kV rms reinforced safety isolation. Developed to maximise system performance and reliability in motor drives, solar inverters and power supplies, this gate driver offers a wide junction temperature range of -40 to +150 degrees C and high CMTI greater than 100V/nano seconds. According to TI, this combination enables designers to achieve levels of performance not available with traditional optocouplers. Designers can accelerate time to market with the UCC23513’s pin-to-pin compatibility with opto isolated gate drivers and ready-to-use design resources, including the three-phase inverter reference design for 200-480 VAC drives with opto-emulated input gate drivers.
