To complement its comprehensive portfolio of silicon carbide mosfet discrete and module products, Microchip Technology announced a new 1200V production-ready digital gate driver, offering system developers with multiple levels of control and protection for safe, reliable operation and qualified to stringent transportation requirements.
For designers of silicon carbide-based power conversion equipment, the company’s AgileSwitch 2ASC-12A2HP 1200V dual-channel digital gate driver with its Augmented Switching technology is production qualified and fully configurable. To assure reliable, safe operation, the gate driver offers multiple levels of control and a higher level of protection for silicon carbide MOSFET-based power systems. Compared to traditional gate drivers, key performance attributes of these products include the ability to dampen drain-source voltage (Vds) overshoots by up to 80% and cut switching losses by as much as 50%. The 2ASC-12A2HP digital gate driver can source/sink up to 10A of peak current and includes an isolated DC-DC converter with a low capacitance isolation barrier for pulse width modulation signals and fault feedback.
This gate driver is compatible with the company’s latest release of the Intelligent Configuration Tool (ICT). This interface enables users to configure gate driver parameters, including the gate switching profiles, system critical monitors and controller interface settings. The result is a gate driver tailored to their applications without needing to change hardware, serving to speed development time from evaluation through production and allowing designers to adjust control parameters throughout the design process. The ICT, a free-of-charge download, can save designers around three to six months of development time on new designs.
“The societal trend toward electrification of all vehicles including buses, trains, trams and agriculture transportation hinges on innovative power electronic solutions to get more productivity from less energy,” said Leon Gross, vice president of Microchip’s discrete product business unit. “When combined with our silicon carbide power devices, this gate driver technology enables engineers to achieve new levels of power density in transportation systems and industrial applications.”
As well as commercial vehicles, other applications include charging infrastructure, energy storage systems, solar inverters and aircraft flight actuators.