Silicon Labs expands isolation gate driver product line

     Silicon Labs, a leading provider of chips, software and solutions for a smarter, more connected world, introduces the new Si823Hx/825xx isolated gate driver. The new product combines faster and safer switching, low latency, and high noise suppression capabilities to be placed closer to the power transistor, enabling compact printed circuit board (PCB) designs. New advances in these gate drivers can help power converter designers meet or exceed increasing energy efficiency standards and size constraints, while supporting the use of emerging technologies such as silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN) and fast Si FETs.

     Brian Mirkin, vice president and general manager of Power Supply products at Silicon Labs, said: "Power converter designers in the automotive, industrial and renewable energy markets are managing dynamic environments through emerging energy efficiency standards and new technology options, while meeting the ongoing demand for safety and power. "Our new isolated gate drivers provide the high performance that power engineers need to meet and exceed industry requirements, including an extended input voltage range, lower latency, increased immunity and fast switching capabilities."

     Silicon Labs' isolated gate driver technology can be used in a variety of power applications, including data center power supplies, solar microinverters, traction inverters for the automotive market, and industrial power supplies. The differentiated features of the Si823Hx/825xx series are specifically configured to meet the needs of designers working in challenging power environments. The Silicon Labs family of products offers a unique boost device that delivers higher pull currents for faster FET on-speed. The symmetrical 4A feed/pull current capability means that the pull current is almost double that of the previous generation of drivers, which helps reduce switching losses.

     The new isolated gate driver reduces latency by half, with a maximum propagation delay of 30ns, resulting in reduced feedback loop delays for higher system efficiency. These drivers also provide improved transient noise suppression to ensure reliable operation in inherently noisy environments. The input voltage range (VDDIH) has also been extended from 4.5V to 20V to support direct interface to the power rail of a typical analog controller.

     Because space constraints are critical, the Si823Hx/Si825xx has a variety of packaging options. A compact drive now comes in an 8-pin package instead of a similar 16-pin package, reducing system size and cost. Other newly upgraded features include overheat protection, which triggers the drive to shut down automatically when the temperature gets too high. Additional safety features include stagnation time, overlap protection, and input noise burr elimination for maximum safety.