Clare Introduces First High-Voltage, High-Side Gate Driver

Clare, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IXYS Corp., announced the availability of the IX2127, a new high-voltage gate driver IC. The IX2127 is a high-voltage, high-speed power MOSFET and IGBT driver. High voltage level shift circuitry and a floating channel allow the IX2127 to drive N-channel power MOSFETs and IGBTs in the high-side configuration operating up to 600V.

Manufactured using Clare’s high-voltage BCDMOS on Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) process, the IX2127 is extremely tolerant to negative transient voltages, while providing excellent noise immunity. Integrated protection features include supply under-voltage lockout, over-current detection and shutdown, and fault reporting. An onboard comparator can be used to detect an over-current condition in the driven MOSFET or IGBT device, and then shut down drive to that device. An open-drain output, FAULT, indicates that an over-current shutdown has occurred.

Using an industry standard pinout, the IX2127 is available in an 8-pin DIP or an 8-lead SOIC package, saving at least 50% PCB area compared to optocoupler or pulse transformer solutions. The IX2127 is well suited for motor driver, switch-mode power supply, lighting and industrial applications.