Highest output gate current; fast shut down; best isolation
San Jose, Calif. – February 26, 2019 – Power Integrations (Nasdaq: POWI), the leader in gate-driver technology for medium and high-voltage inverter applications, today announced theSIC1182K SCALE-iDriver™, a high-efficiency, single-channel SiC MOSFET gate driver that delivers the highest peak output gate current available without an external boost stage. Devices can be configured to support different gate-drive voltage requirements matching the range of requirements seen in SiC MOSFETs today and include advanced safety features making them both compact and robust.
The SIC1182K offers up to 8 A output at a junction temperature of 125°C allowing these devices to support SiC-MOSFET inverter designs up to several hundred kilowatts without a booster stage. This results in high system efficiency and enables customers to produce only one design to cover their entire product portfolio of differently-rated power inverters. A switching frequency of up to 150 kHz supports multiple applications.
SCALE-iDriver SIC1182K SiC gate drivers feature Power Integrations’ high speed communications FluxLink™ technology, dramatically improving isolation capability. FluxLink is a revolution in signal transmission replacing optocouplers and capacitive or silicon-based solutions, significantly improving reliability and delivers reinforced isolation up to 1200 V. SCALE-iDriver devices also include system-critical protection features such as desaturation monitoring and current SENSE read out, primary and secondary undervoltage lock-out (UVLO) and Advanced Active Clamping (AAC). More, the protection circuits provide safe shut down within 5 microseconds, meeting the fast protection needs of SiC devices. SIC1182K SiC gate drivers exhibit high external magnetic field immunity, featuring a package that provides ≥9.5 mm of creepage and clearance, using material that has the highest CTI level, CTI600, to IEC60112.
Comments Michael Hornkamp, senior director of marketing for gate-driver products at Power Integrations: “Silicon Carbide MOSFET technology opens the door for decreasing size, lower weight and reduced losses in power inverter systems. The SCALE-iDriver family pairing with FluxLink™ technology enables safe, cost-effective designs for inverters with very few external components up to 100 kW, ensuring functional safety as well as compact packaging and maximized efficiency. Key applications include UPS, photo-voltaic systems, servo drives, welding inverters and power supplies.”
SCALE-iDriver technology minimizes the number of external components that are needed and reduces the BOM: tantalum or electrolytic capacitors are not required; only one secondary winding is needed. A two-layer-PCB can be used which increases design simplicity, cuts component count and eases supply chain management.
Power Integrations’ SCALE-iDriver SIC1182K SiC gate drivers meet IEC60664-1 isolation coordination for low voltage equipment below 1000 V and IEC61800-5-1 electric motor drive inverter regulations. UL 1577, 5 kVAC for 1 min, is pending and VDE0884-10 is in process.
Devices are available now, priced at $4.65 in 10,000 piece quantities. Technical information is available from the Power Integrations website at http://www.power.com/products/scale-idriver-ic-family/sic1182k/.
