Silicon Labs Expands Portfolio of Isolated Gate Drivers

     Silicon Labs introduces new Si823Hx/825xx isolated gate drivers. The new products combine faster and safer switching, low latency and high noise rejection, and can be placed closer to the power transistors for 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 enabling the use of emerging technologies such as silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), and fast Si FETs . 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.

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

     The differentiating features of the Si823Hx/825xx family are specially configured to meet the needs of designers working in challenging power supply environments. The Silicon Labs family of products offers unique boost devices that provide higher current sinks for faster FET turn-on speeds. Symmetrical 4A sink/source capability means that the sourcing current is nearly double that of previous-generation drivers, which helps reduce switching losses. The new isolated gate driver cuts the delay in half with a maximum propagation delay of 30ns, which reduces feedback loop delay for higher system efficiency. These drivers also have improved transient noise immunity, ensuring reliable operation in inherently noisy environments. The input voltage range (VDDIH) has also been extended from 4.5V to 20V, enabling direct interface to the power rails of typical analog controllers.

     Since space constraints are critical, the Si823Hx/Si825xx are available in a variety of package options. A compact driver is now available in an 8-pin package instead of the similar 16-pin package, reducing system size and cost. Other newly upgraded features include overheating protection, which triggers the drive to shut down automatically when the temperature gets too high. Additional safety features include dead time, overlap protection and input noise glitch removal to maximize safety.