High Voltage Isolated Gate Driver Board From Analog Devices for Microsemi

Analog Devices and Microsemi Corporation have recently collaborated and introduced the first ever high-power evaluation board for the half-bridge SiC power modules. These evaluation boards will go up to 1200 V and 50 A at a two hundred kHz switching frequency. This new isolated board has been produced to upgrade design reliability and lowering the need for the production of additional prototypes. This will maximize time, lower costs, and reduce the time needed to market towards power conversion and energy storage customers.

The upgraded isolated board can be used as the building block for topologies that are more complex. This includes full bridge or multi-level converters. The new board can also serve as a final evaluation form or as a “in converter-like” configuration to be used for full tests and evaluations of Analog Devices’. These Analog Devices’ include the ADuM4135, which is an isolated gate driver that uses iCoupler digital isolation technology and the LT3999 DC-DC driver using a high-powered system.

The new, high-powered evaluation board allows for the SiC power modules made by Microsemi to supply benefits like a common bench test, heightened power density to reduce size and cost. This also provides an isolated substrate that is a conductive substrate and a minimum parasitic capacity that allows for greater efficiency, better performance, and good thermal management. These characteristics allow for the board to be compatible for applications that include charging for electrical vehicles, hybrids, DC-DC converters, power supplies with switched modes, aviation actuation systems, motor control that is high-powered, MRIs and X-Rays, plasma and semi cap equipment, and lasers and welding.