Driver ICs with Reinforced Isolation Deliver up to 8A

Power Integrations today announced a family of galvanically isolated single-channel gate driver ICs ranging in output current from 2.5A to 8A – the industry's highest output current without an external booster. SCALE-iDriver™ ICs, optimized for driving both IGBTs and MOSFETs, are the first products to bring Power Integrations' pioneering FluxLink™ magneto-inductive bi-directional communications technology to 1200V driver applications. FluxLink technology eliminates the need for unreliable opto-electronics and the associated compensation circuitry, thereby enhancing operational stability while reducing system complexity.

In addition to combining industry-leading isolation technology, the new gate drivers incorporate advanced system safety and protection features commonly found in medium- and high-voltage applications, further enhancing product reliability. The innovative eSOP package features 9.5mm of creepage and a CTI of 600, ensuring substantial operating voltage margin and high system reliability.

SCALE-iDriver single-channel gate driver ICs dramatically reduce component count for inverters up to 110kW, saving space and BOM cost and increasing design flexibility. With the addition of a simple, low-cost booster stage, it is now far quicker to develop efficient, space-saving, reliable inverter designs rated up to 400kW (15A). The new devices meet the IEC 60664-1 and IEC 61800-5-1 standards, and operate from -40 to +125 degrees C and at frequencies of up to 250kHz.

They also feature Power Integrations’ Advanced Soft Shut Down (ASSD) mechanism that protects the power semiconductor switch in the event of a short circuit. ASSD is automatically triggered by monitoring desaturation levels and requires no extra components.

Comments Michael Hornkamp, senior director of marketing for high-power products at Power Integrations: “SCALE-iDriver ICs will revolutionize gate driver design. By pairing Power Integrations’ SCALE™ technology – which already incorporates all key gate-driver functions into an ASIC – with accurate, high-speed FluxLink communication, we have increased performance and reliability by an order of magnitude when compared to devices that use opto- or silicon-isolated capacitive or magnetic couplers. Bi-directional communication results in fast, efficient, accurate switching and minimizes signal jitter. The wide FluxLink isolation gap delivers exceptional robustness, and the use of low-profile packaging technology enables basic two-layer PCBs to be used, reducing size and system cost.”

SCALE-iDriver ICs suit applications in industrial drives, power supplies and UPS, photovoltaic inverters of all sizes, industrial HVAC, EV charging and traction equipment including commercial EVs. SID1132K (2.5A), SID1152K (5A), SID1182K (8A) devices are available and priced at $2.57 in 10,000-piece quantities. Reference designs RDHP-1608 (2.5A, 5A and 8A versions) and RDHP-1526 (15A) and technical support for SCALE-iDriver ICs are available.