Infineon Introduces Advanced EiceDRIVER™ Gate Driver ICs
On May 15, 2023, a new generation of double-channel electrical isolation EiceDRIVER™ gate driver IC product series was launched by Infineon Technologies AG to meet the latest design and application requirements in the electronic components industry.
The product series incorporates cutting-edge technologies, such as superjunction (SJ) power MOSFETs and silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs in the totem pole PFC stage, as well as gallium nitride (GaN) power switches capable of meeting high-voltage DC-DC power conversion demands. These advancements enable a power density of up to 100 W/inch3. Digital control of both power factor correction (PFC) and DC-DC, coupled with excellent gate driver solutions, plays a crucial role in improving energy efficiency and enhancing robustness.
The new EiceDRIVER™ gate driver IC product series from Infineon offers a range of options for undervoltage lockout (UVLO) thresholds and isolation levels. It employs different packaging technologies to provide comprehensive solutions for various applications. This new product combination combines powerful isolation technology that complies with the latest industry standards with excellent electrical parameters, ensuring efficient and reliable operation across a wide range of temperatures and extending the lifespan of the devices. The versatility of this series makes it suitable for a variety of applications, including servers and telecommunications SMPS, solar inverters and energy storage systems, motor drives and battery-powered applications, electric vehicle charging, and high-performance computing.
Compared to the previous generation, the new EiceDRIVER™ introduces the DSO 14-pin package, which increases the creepage distance between channels. It also features built-in dead time control and breakdown protection, while reducing UVLO startup time. The new EiceDRIVER™ incorporates robust isolation technology that meets the latest device-level isolation standards (VDE 0884-11, IEC 60747-17). Furthermore, this series of gate driver ICs utilizes a highly compact LGA 4x4 mm2 package, which can save up to 36% of space in low-voltage applications. One of the significant improvements and upgrades in the new EiceDRIVER™ is the integration of electrical isolation technology in the gate driver IC, which has already obtained IEC 60747-17 certification. Obtaining IEC 60747-17 certification means that these products can achieve a lifespan of 20 years and meet the highest safety standards.
The shortened UVLO startup time (reduced from 5μs to 2μs) accelerates the startup speed of the SMPS and prevents saturation of the main power transformer. Additionally, the new IC features a special output clamping circuit, enabling active output clamping functionality to quickly suppress output noise even when the channel is inactive. This versatile approach prevents dangerous half-bridge pass-through events during the bootstrap startup process, even when the gate driver power is below the UVLO turn-on threshold.
The new generation gate driver IC incorporates configurable breakdown protection (STP) and dead time control (DTC) as secondary safety mechanisms, ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the gate driver IC. Moreover, the innovative packaging design eliminates unused or previously called "NC" (no connection) pins, improving the isolation level between channels and providing greater flexibility in PCB layout, thereby reducing the difficulty of circuit development for designers in the electronic components distribution field.
