New Industry Products

Plug-and-Play Gate Drivers Speed Development & Increase Ruggedness

December 21, 2018 by Paul Shepard

Power Integrations today announced a new plug-and-play gate driver for use with Infineon's PrimePACK™3+ and Fuji-equivalent IGBT modules for 2-level and 3-level applications. The SCALE-2™ 2SP0430T2XX gate-driver board suits industrial, traction, UPS and renewable-energy applications, and provides reinforced isolation for 1200V and 1700V IGBT modules.

Meeting IEC60664-1 and IEC61800-5-1 standards and available in versions that support PD2 and PD3, the 2SP0430T2XX family includes integrated safety features such as UVLO and short-circuit protection plus the new Dynamic Advanced Active Clamping (DAAC). DAAC is especially valuable in protecting photovoltaic inverters (PV) and traction drive applications where unstable voltages can cause dc-link voltages to approach maximum values.

The 2SP0430T2XX gate driver is available in two different versions for 1200V and 1700V PrimePACK 3+ IGBT modules supporting different isolation classes: 5000Vac (50Hz/1min) and 9150Vac (50Hz/1min). All models are conformally coated to protect the plug-and-play boards against harsh environments. Peak output gate current is ±30A and regulated gate voltage is +15V/-10V, delivering up to 4W output power per channel (at 85°C ambient). Propagation delay is less than 100ns, with a jitter variation of ±4ns.

Michael Hornkamp, senior director of marketing for gate-driver products at Power Integrations commented: "Our SCALE-2 technology reduces system BOM and improves reliability by including all key protection features and the dc-dc converter within the driver unit. DAAC ensures that units are optimally protected in case of over-current and during short-circuit turn-off."

Hornkamp continued: "The new 2SP0430T2xx gate driver is a first in the industrial market as it includes a variant for 1700 V PrimePACK IGBT modules that meets PD3 requirements for creepage and clearance distances and is able to operate in 3-level applications with a grounded dc-link. This makes devices very easy to use, reducing engineers' development challenges and decreasing time-to-market."

The gate drivers are available now, priced at $162 each in 100-piece quantities.