New Industry Products

Microchip Debuts 1200V, Dual-Channel SiC MOSFET Gate Driver

October 06, 2021 by Gary Elinoff

The new unit features multiple levels of control, affording a high level of protection for SiC MOSFETs and the systems they power.

Microchip’s AgileSwitch 2ASC-12A2HP digital gate driver can dampen drain-source voltage overshoots by as much as 80% and can also slash switching losses by as much as 50%. The device can source or sink a peak current of up to 10 amps.

Image courtesy of Microchip

 

A Fully Configurable Digital Gate Driver

The 2ASC-12A2HP works with Microchip’s Intelligent Configuration Tool (ICT), allowing the user control over the gate driver’s parameters, including switching profiles and the controller interface’s settings. Thus, with no need to alter hardware, the device can be customized to a variety of applications. Available at no cost, ICT also gives engineers the opportunity to modify the control parameters as the need comes up during the course of development.

 

Power Systems Must Be Highly Efficient and Attain High Power Density

As per Leon Gross, vice president of Microchip’s discrete product business unit, “The societal trend toward electrification of all vehicles including buses, trains, trams, and agriculture transportation hinges on innovative power electronic solutions to get more productivity from less energy.” He goes on to say that, “When combined with our silicon carbide power devices, this gate driver technology enables engineers to achieve new levels of power density in transportation systems and industrial applications.”

 

Absolute Maximums

  • Supply voltage maximum is 16.5V (typical is 15V)
  • 5V power supply, made available to primary side electronics features a maximum output of 50mA
  • Common-mode transient immunity (CMTI) is a minimum of 100 kV/µsec
  • Isolation voltage, primary to secondary is 3750 VAC
  • Working voltage, from primary to the secondary side and from secondary to secondary side is 1200V

 

Other Features and Specifications

Maximum power output per driver channel is 3 watts

At no load, the driver draws 50mA of supply current 

Primary side

◦     Low voltage detect fault level: minimum 13.2V, typical 13.5V

◦     High voltage detect fault level: 16V typical, maximum is 16.5V

Secondary Side

◦     Low voltage detect fault level 20.2V minimum, 20.5V typical

◦     High voltage detect fault level 24.4V minimum, 24.65V maximum

 

Complete specifications and further conditions are provided by the datasheet

 

Applications

  • Heavy-duty vehicles
  • Induction heating 
  • Auxiliary power units
  • Energy storage systems
  • Solar inverters
  • Aircraft flight actuators
  • Wireless charging

 

Physical

  • The device requires 40 x 61mm of board space
  • Operating temperature range is from -40 to +85℃
  • Creepage distance from primary to secondary sides is 8mm

 

Regulatory and Safety

  • UL Compliant 
  • Shock and Vibration as per IEC60068-2-6
  • Temperature Cycling as per JEDS22-A104

 

Environmental

  • The Unit is RoHS compliant

 

Getting to Market Faster

ICT features starter settings for many of today’s SiC switches, vastly cutting down development time. The 2ASC-12A2HP mates with a series of module adapter boards, enabling designers to adapt to different footprints as needed.

Microchip also offers its Augmented Switching Accelerated Development Kits (ASDAK). These include gate drivers, module adapter boards, and a programming kit.

 

Featured image used courtesy of Microchip