Littelfuse introduces optically isolated photovoltaic drivers that provide floating power for isolated switch applications

     Littelfuse Corporation is an industrial technology manufacturing company dedicated to powering a sustainable, connected and safer world. The company announced the launch of FDA117 photoisolated photovoltaic drives. This innovative product generates a floating power supply and is an excellent choice for isolating switch applications in a wide range of industries. The FDA117 comes in a 4-pin DIP through-hole and surface-mount package that is compatible with other PV drive pins on the market. This compatibility ensures that no major changes are required and can be easily integrated into existing designs.

     The FDA117 is designed to control discrete standard power MOSFETs and IGBTs using a floating voltage source, ensuring isolation between the low-voltage drive input side and the high-voltage load output side. With an input control current range of 5 mA to 50 mA, an integrated fast shutdown circuit, and an enhanced isolation of 5 kVRMS, the FDA117 provides enough voltage and current to effectively drive discrete power MOSFETs and IGBTs.

     One of the main differences between the FDA117 and other products is the ability to produce a floating power supply up to 15.3V and 60µA current, which is suitable for driving standard MOSFET devices and IGBTs. This capability increases application design flexibility, enables direct drive of standard MOSFET/IGBT devices, and safely shuts down external power semiconductors in less than 0.5 milliseconds.

     Whether used for custom solid-state relay designs, power and load control, or industrial process control, the FDA117 provides the necessary isolation barriers to protect equipment and people from electrical hazards. "To give customers greater flexibility in application design, we developed the FDA117, which adds a single-channel version to the existing PV drive portfolio." Mark P. Smith, Director of Product Management for Integrated Circuits and Microcontrollers, said, "The combination of high open circuit and short circuit currents with the 5 kVRMS enhanced isolation voltage allows for increased design flexibility."