Power Integrations announced that two members of its SCALE-iDriver gate-driver IC family are now certified to AEC-Q100 Grade Level 1 for automotive use. The two parts, SID1132KQ and SID1182KQ, are suitable for driving 650 V, 750 V and 1200 V automotive IGBT and SiC-MOSFET modules, and are rated for peak currents of +/-2.5 A and +/-8 A respectively. The SID1182KQ has the highest output current of any isolated gate driver available and is capable of driving a 600 A /1200 V and 820 A /750 V switch.

With the rapidly expanding EV and BEV market, the high-voltage power conversion semiconductor company began to look at their current SCALE-iDriver technology that, with some additional testing and effort, would enable customers to obtain the stability across temperature and time, creepage and clearance requirements enabled through the 9.5 mm packaging technology, and the peak power performance required for automotive applications.

SCALE-iDriver family of single-channel IGBT and SiC-MOSFET driver ICs features Power Integrations’ innovative FluxLink magneto-inductive bi-directional communication technology which ensures reinforced galvanic isolation between the primary and secondary sides, setting a new standard in isolation integrity and stability. The technology has proven to be extremely safe —and in large volumes—with 400 million Fluxlink-enabled devices already deployed and an exceptionally low failure rate of 0.07 ppm.

FluxLink technology eliminates the need for opto-electronics, which suffer parametric changes with age and relentless thermal degradation that limits operational lifetime. Use of magnetically-coupled conductors locked into a homogenous thermoset, high-quality insulation greatly enhances operational stability and longevity. The devices utilize Power Integrations’ compact and robust eSOP package, which offers a CTI level of 600, 9.5 mm creepage and clearance distance, and easily meets automotive 5500 m requirements.

Comments Michael Hornkamp, senior director of marketing for gate-driver products at Power Integrations: “Automotive manufacturers require safe, smart and highly integrated solutions for EV and HEV applications including the main inverter, brake chopper, DC-DC battery converter and AC-DC onboard battery-charger designs. AEC-Q100 approval for the SCALE-iDriver gate-driver family enables automotive design engineers to increase system efficiency and, for the first time, benefit from this ultra-safe and reliable isolation technology. Our FluxLink magnetic coupling technology permits data transfer with galvanic isolation and includes a minimum internal 0.4 mm separation through high-quality insulation between the low- and high-voltage sides. SCALE-iDriver automotive ICs achieve a new level of driver reliability and isolation safety.”

SCALE-iDriver devices minimize the number of external components required, simplifying the BOM and permitting two-layer PCB layouts, which reduces interference and increases the reliability of the whole system. The automotive DC-DC converter for the secondary-side supply voltage is greatly simplified as only a unipolar voltage is required by the SCALE-iDriver IC. Built-in voltage and power management circuitry handles the necessary regulation of positive and negative gate-drive voltages. The IC features a full range of safety features including Advanced Soft Shut Down (ASSD) for short-circuit turn-off and under-voltage protection.

SCALE-iDriver ICs are available now, priced at $4.12 in 10,000 quantities. Technical information is available from the Power Integrations website at www.power.com/products/scale-idriver-ic-family/sid11x2kq/.