
Allegro adds bipolar output to isolated gate driver
Allegro Microsystems has launched its second isolated gate driver with a bipolar output to simplify high frequency designs.
The Allegro AHV85111 isolated gate-driver IC adds critical safety features alongside the bipolar output. This simplifies the design of high frequency, high power energy conversion systems for e-Mobility and clean energy applications, including OBC/DCDC, solar inverter and datacentre power supply.
Adding the bipolar output that significantly improves time to market by eliminating the need to design a complicated negative isolated DC power supply and removing unnecessary external components. The bipolar output rails, with adjustable and regulated positive rail, improves dv/dt immunity, greatly simplifies the system design, and reduces EMI through reduced total common-mode (CM) capacitance. It also allows the driving of a floating switch in any location in a switching power topology.
The move follows the acquisition of Heyday Integrated Circuits in France for its fully integrated isolated gate drivers for gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) designs.
That deal combined Heyday’s patented isolated gate driver technology and Allegro’s isolated current sensors to enable smaller high-voltage and high-efficiency power system designs.
“Allegro continues to build upon the technology from our acquisitions in order to expand our High Voltage Power portfolio aimed at helping designers achieve their efficiency and power density needs in clean energy and e-Mobility systems,” said Vijay Mangtani, Vice President and General Manager for High Voltage Power at Allegro.
“The bipolar-output of our latest device improves noise immunity and significantly simplifies high-frequency power-converter designs,” he said.
The power-thru solution also adds crucial safety features that were designed to protect against high operating temperatures in electric powertrain systems, as well as reactions to noisy environments that may be present in microinverters in solar applications, power supply in datacentre applications or on-board chargers for electric vehicles.
The power-thru technology has 10x lower common-mode capacitance, a 50% smaller footprint, 10x noise reduction and a 50% efficiency improvement compared to other devices while also providing overtemperature protection that further improves the robustness of system.
www.allegromicro.com/en/products/motor-drivers/gate-drivers/ahv85111
