Smart gate driver protects dependable 48V battery systems
To protect Li-ion battery systems against negative and positive voltages, in hybrid electric vehicles (EVs), trucks and solar panels, Infineon has added the automotive dual high-side gate driver EiceDriver 2ED4820-EM with serial peripheral interface (SPI).
These batteries must be able to quickly and reliably disconnect from loads within microseconds, in the event of an over-current. Since a battery unit may not be dedicated to one vehicle, status diagnostic and protection threshold configurability are key.
The smart gate driver with SPI can be used with Infineon’s 80/100 V OptiMOS MOSFETs. It is also an option for switching high-current loads in a 48V board net.
The smart, dual channel, high side gate driver can tolerate negative voltages at Vbat down to -90V and voltages up to +105V. Any of these voltage conditions could occur during a short circuit or a poor contact connection event. The EiceDriver 2ED4820-EM includes a current sense amplifier for high or low side measurement. The low-side measurement helps reduce cost, PCB space and the overall power dissipation, since the existing shunt resistor of the battery management system can be used. It has two integrated output channels making it possible to control a dedicated pre-charge path or separate the charging and discharging current path of the battery, further reducing PCB space and overall cost.
The 2ED4820-EM is in production now. The device is PRO-SIL ISO26262-ready and comes with a safety application note to facilitate the usage in functional-safety applications. To accelerate the design-in process, an evaluation board and a reference board equipped with the EiceDriver APD 2ED4820-EM are available for order.
Infineon also offers simulation models and a training video online.