Texas Instruments introduces highly integrated functional safety compliance isolated grid drivers

     Texas Instruments has introduced a highly integrated, feature-safety-compliant, isolated grid driver to help engineers design more efficient traction inverters and extend electric vehicle (EV) range. The features offered by the new UCC5880-Q1 enhanced isolated grid driver enable electric vehicle powertrain engineers to achieve their safety and performance goals while increasing power density and reducing system design complexity and cost.

     As electric vehicles grow in popularity, semiconductor innovations in traction inverter systems help overcome some of the key technical barriers to their widespread adoption. Automakers can design with UCC5880-Q1 to build safer, more efficient, and more reliable silicon carbide (SiC) and insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) traction inverters with real-time variable gate drive capabilities, serial peripheral interface (SPI), power module monitoring and protection, and functional safety diagnostics.

     "Designers for high-voltage applications such as traction inverters face a unique set of challenges to deliver greater system efficiency and reliability in tight Spaces," said Wenjia Liu, High voltage Drive product line manager at Texas Instruments. The new isolated grid driver will not only help engineers maximize driving range, but also reduce the number of external components and design complexity by integrating safety features. It can also be easily paired with other high-voltage power conversion products, such as the UCC14141-Q1 isolated auxiliary PSU, to increase system power density and help engineers get the most out of traction inverters."

     Since the improvement of efficiency will directly affect the extended driving range after each charge, higher reliability and better power consumption performance of electric vehicles are increasingly required. However, it is very difficult for designers to achieve efficiency improvements, because most traction inverters already operate at 90% or more efficiency.

     By varying the grid drive strength in real time in the range of 20 A to 5 A, designers can use the UCC5880-Q1 grid drivers to further reduce SiC switching power losses, increasing system efficiency by as much as 2% and thereby extending EV range by up to 11 km per charge. For electric car owners who charge their vehicles three times a week, the annual driving range can be extended by more than 1,600 kilometers. For more information, read the technical article "How to Maximize the Efficiency of SiC Traction Inverters with Real-time Variable grid Drive Strength."

     In addition, the UCC5880-Q1 features an SPI communication interface and integrated monitoring and protection functions to reduce design complexity and external component costs. Engineers can use the SiC EV traction inverter reference design to further simplify the design and quickly design a more efficient traction inverter system prototype. This tested customizable design includes the UCC5880-Q1, an auxiliary power module, a real-time control MCU, and a high-precision sensor.