Electronics in Motion and Conversion March 2009 - Bodo's Power · ZKZ 64717 03-09 ISSN: 1863-5598...
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ZKZ 64717 03-09 ISSN: 1863-5598 Electronics in Motion and Conversion March 2009
Transcript of Electronics in Motion and Conversion March 2009 - Bodo's Power · ZKZ 64717 03-09 ISSN: 1863-5598...
ZKZ 64717
03-09ISSN: 1863-5598
Electronics in Motion and Conversion March 2009
Optocouplers for High Temperature Automotive Applications
The adoption of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technologies is driving the need for new isolation devices in automotive applications. Generally, voltages above 50Vac or 70Vdc with safety-related insulation. Figure 1 shows examples of where optocouplers that provide electrical isolation are deployed in the HEV.
Avago Technologies’ industrial grade optocouplers have been successfully deployed in hybrid automotive projects for many years. However, industrial grade products cannot address all the needs required for emerging automotive applications. Especially in applications that require reliable long term operation at high ambient temperatures of up to 125°C. Avago introduced its first series of automotive-grade optocouplers in 2006, and has continued to expand its portfolio of high-temperature optocouplers for automotive applications
Inverter SystemsIn electric motor drive systems, the inverter switches voltages in excess of 300V to provide safe insulation. Since this application is located under the hood in the engine compartment, the minimum operating temperature requirement is 125°C. Optocouplers must also be able to reject high voltage transients at high common mode voltages experienced bythe inverter system during switching. Immunity to switching noises ensures stable operation of the inverter system.
For direct drive IGBTs used in the inverter systems, Avago offers the ACPL-312T, which provide a peak output current of 2.5A and is capable of driving the IGBTs up to 1200V/100A. If higher output current is required to drive a powerful drive system, an external current buffer amplifier can be added to drive large IGBTs to achieve this requirement. For inverter systems that utilize intelligent power modules, the ACPL-M43T and ACPL-M46T provide an ideal solution to meet these application requirements.
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DC-DCConverter
BMSBatteries
Microprocessor/Microcontroller
Digital Optocoupler
Digital Optocoupler
IsolationAmplifierIsolationAmplifier
DigitalOptocoupler
SSR
Inverter
Microprocessor/Microcontroller
InverterMicroprocessor/Microcontroller
Air-Con
ElectricMotor
Electronic Sensor orMagnetic Sensor
Voltage/Current Monitor
Temp SensorMonitor
Gate Drive/IPM DriveOptocouplers
Gate Drive/IPM DriveOptocouplers
TemperatureSensor
Low Noise Pre-Amplifier
-++--
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MoMototorr
PM Driv/IPPM DrivPM DrivPPIIII DriveDrive/ PM DrivePM Driv/IPM Drive
Lo Noise e Pre-AAmpliffierow w se Pee e p eesso Noo ffieriPr AAm lPNoiw NLLo oise P e--A p ePNo Pr ffieriiiLow Noise Pre-Amplifier
Isolation AmplifierIsolation Amplifier
Isolation Amplifier
DigitalOptocoupler
DigitalOptocoupler
Air-Con System
Electric Motor Drive System
VoltageSensor
Isolation Amplifier
Other Sub-Systems
Battery System
Isolation Amplifier
CANBUS
DigitalOptocoupler
Figure 1. Applications of Optocouplers in HEV
For more product information please go to our web site:
www.avagotech.com/optocouplers
Avago, Avago Technologies, and the A logo are trademarks of Avago Technologies Limited in the United States and other countries.Data subject to change. Copyright © 2008 Avago Technologies
Analog SensingMany analog sensors are required to monitor the performance of the motor drive and battery management systems and will require isolation in this hazardous high voltage environment. The ACPL-782T isolation amplifier is ideal for this purpose; the sigma-delta architecture provides the accuracy and drift performance expected, while the isolation performance blocks both the high voltage and common mode noise. The most common use will be for the bus-voltage sensing.
CommunicationsFor communications between different systems, the ACPL-M43T and ACPL-M61T cater to digital data transmission speeds of 1MBd and 10MBd respectively.
High Voltage Safety and RegulatoryThe combination of micro-voids and space charge degradation has been known to affect high voltage degradation and safety insulations. Avago automotive grade optocouplers are constructed with double insulation, using thick composite construction of polyimide tape and silicone for reliable high voltage performance. These automotive grade optocouplers are UL1577 and IEC60747-5-2 and IEC60747-5-5 certified. A list of Avago’s amplifiers and their working voltage ratings are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Voltage Ratings of Avago Automotive Grade Optocoupler
Part No. Package UL1577 Rating IEC Working Voltage
ACPL-M43T SO5 3.75kVrms 567Vpeak
ACPL-M46T SO5 3.75kVrms 567Vpeak
ACPL-M61T SO5 3.75kVrms 567Vpeak
ACPL-312T DIP8 3.75kVrms 630Vpeak
ACPL-782T DIP8 3.75kVrms 891Vpeak
Considerations for LED Direct DriveMany designers typically provide a 30% margin for the LED driving current. This can be observed in Avago Technologies datasheets where the recommended LED driving conditions are above the threshold driving current for optimal performance.Information by competitive isolation technologies which highlight how LED degradation is accelerated under high operating temperature environments as a concern warrants a short discussion.
Figure 2. Normalized CTR performance under 5khrs of Accelerated Stress
Avago’s in-house III/V R&D and manufacturing capabilities provide a significant technical advantage for automotive grade optocouplers. Under high temperatures and forward current accelerated stress conditions, the current transfer ratio of Avago’s automotive grade optocouplers remain stable as illustrated in Figure 2. The duration represented in the chart exceeds 30 years field life based on the mission profiles supplied by some of Avago’s customers.
ConclusionsAvago Technologies offers pre-eminent optocoupler isolation devices that meet the growing demand of the hybrid electric vehicle market. In addition, Avago’s automotive optocouplers are qualified to Automotive Electronic Council AECQ100 semiconductor stress test guidelines and are certified tomeet the operating conditions of automotive vehicles and are manufactured in compliance to TS16949. This certification ensures that the highest quality standards are adhered to for suitable use in the demanding automotive application market. Avago’s automotive grade optocouplers will fully meet the demanding isolation and insulation requirements of hybrid electric vehicles where very high switching common mode noise and high voltages are known to be present.
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High-Temp Operating Life Stress (kHours)
Norm
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Tra
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io
Avago Automotive Grade LEDs @150ºC mean
Avago Automotive Grade LEDs @150ºC mean -3sigma
Get Free Reference Boards and Samples at: www.avago-optocouplers.com/9
1www.bodospower.com
C O N T E N T S
Viewpoint
Engineers Build our Future to Survive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Product of the Month
Cool-ORingTM Family Targeting
Important Redundant Power Architectures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Blue Product of the Month
Fluxgate Technology to Reduce
Current Transducer Size by 30 Percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Guest Editorial
Put Less of a Burden on the Power Grid
Dan Kinzer, Senior VP of Analog, MOSFET, and Packaging Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Market
Electronics Industry Digest
By Aubrey Dunford, Europartners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Market
Darnell Report
By Linnea Brush, Senior Research Analyst, Darnell Group . . . 18-19
Cover Story
Intelligent Paralleling
By Heinz Rüedi and Olivier Garcia, CT-Concept Technologie AG, Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-23
High Power Switch
High Voltage Semiconductor Switches
By Iulian Nistor, Tobias Wikström, Maxi Scheinert, ABB Switzerland Ltd, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-26
Protection
Protecting PoE Equipment from Overvoltage and Overcurrent Damage
By Matt Williams, Applications Engineering Manager and Theresa Lagos, Overvoltage Product Manager, Tyco Electronics Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-30
Solar Power
Symmetrical Boost Concept for Solar Applications up to 1000V
By Michael Frisch, Vincotech GmbH, Biberger Str. 93, 82008 Unterhaching (Germany) andTemesi Ernö, Vincotech Kft., Kossuth Lajos u. 59, H-2060 Bicske (Hungary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Battery Management
Understanding System Loads and Interfacing with Chargers
By Charles Mauney, Senior Battery Charger Applications Engineer, Texas Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-34
Lighting
Want To Dim Your LEDs with a TRIAC Dimmer?
By Ernest Bron, Field Applications Engineer, National Semiconductor Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-37
Lighting
Higher Efficiency in Lighting through Primary Side Regulation
By Peter Hsieh, Leon Lee and Kevin Hsueh; Fairchild Semiconductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-41
Communication Power
Power over Ethernet Moves Forward
By Koen Geirnaert, Product Marketing Manager, ON Semiconductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-44
Test & Measurement
Extending the reach of JTAG/Boundary Scan
By Mario Berger, GOEPEL electronic GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-45
New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46-48
E M C C O M P O N E N T S I N D U C T O R ST R A N S F O R M E R SR F C O M P O N E N T SP R E S S - F I T T E C H N O L O G Y C O N N E C T O R S V A R I S T O R SA S S E M B LY T E C H N I Q U E www.we-online.com
24h sample servicefor customized transformer
8-days-service free of charge
10 customized samples
Rapid prototyping
Designed to your specification
Including datasheet & test report
www.we-online.com/speedy
For Power & Telecom Transformers
2 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
TThhee GGaalllleerryy
SAMPLES AVAILABLE!
CT-Concept Technologie AG, Renferstrasse 15, CH-2504 Biel, Switzerland, Phone +41-32-344 47 47 www.IGBT-Driver.com
High Frequency
Artists!
Features350kHz max. switching frequency
±1ns jitter
+15V/-10V gate voltage
20W output power
60A gate drive current
80ns delay time
3.3V to 15V logic compatible
Integrated DC/DC converter
Power supply monitoring
Electrical isolation for 1700V IGBTs
Short-circuit protection
Fast failure feedback
Superior EMC
The 1SC2060 is a new, powerful member of the CONCEPT
driver core family.The introduction of planar transformer tech-
nology for gate drivers allows a leap forward in power den-
sity, noise immunity and reliability. Equipped with the latest
SCALE-2 chipset, this gate driver supports switching frequen-
cies up to 350kHz with best-in-class efficiency. It is suited
for high-power IGBTs and MOSFETs with blocking voltages up
to 1700V. Let this artist perform in your high-frequency or
high-power applications.
1SC2060 Gate Driver
Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Hi friends: The economy does not look too
good. While we engineers work hard to turn
the economy around, Wall Street still grants
high bonuses to failed managers who have
destroyed the foundations of their compa-
nies. The idea of a “bad bank” for toxic
assets has some possibilities – maybe exec-
utives who created the disaster should join
the bad bank and get an education in appro-
priate salary treatment. Technology is not
generated by our wall-street dummies.
We must support engineers with motivation
and employment. In Washington during
APEC, I spoke to Companies that have had
to cut back to preserve their future. They too
need our attention and support.
Technology must lead the way to more effi-
cient solutions – and electronics is key. Elec-
tronics has become the brain and the heart
of solutions. While good controllers date
back to the 60’s, attention now has shifted to
better intelligence and digital controls as
avenues to system optimization.
Motor drives and power supplies show the
benefit of MOS-gated silicon switch technol-
ogy that has been successful everywhere.
The IGBT has won applications from line
voltage to several kilovolts. Beyond that,
IGCT switches range to 10Kv. With all these
applications already developed in silicon, it is
interesting to imagine what the new semi-
conductor materials will bring. Switches for
High Speed Trains at high voltage, and
power supplies at high temperature in avion-
ic applications, require new semiconductor
materials. Electro-hybrid vehicle develop-
ment around the globe will also benefit.
Higher thermal capabilities in packaging and
passives are needed to stay compatible with
these new semiconductors. Improving from
175°C to something in the 300°C area
requires new approaches for electrical con-
nections – possibly the pressure contacts
seen in advanced packaging at Semikron.
Chip enclosures, capacitors, and coils for
higher temperatures will evolve. A lot to do
for engineers - let us start today to build a
better world.
We live in One World. As a publisher I serve
the world: One Magazine, On Time, Always,
is my mantra - no exceptions. There is no
better way to communicate.
My Green Power tip for this month:
Unplug your wall-warts, and put automatic,
or convenient, line switches in your new
designs. Standby losses for low power elec-
tronics, world-wide, are now huge. Such is
the price of success
Best regards
Engineers Build our Future
Events
TI Power Supply Design SeminarsEurope and Midlde East
March / April http://ti.com/psds-e
Fairchild’s Power Seminars March / April
www.fairchildsemi.com/powerseminar/
Embedded 2009 Nuremberg Germany March 3-5
http://www.embedded-world.de
EMC 2009 Stuttgart Germany
March 10- 12 http://www.e-emv.com
New Energy Husum Germany
March 12-15 http://new-energy.de
Developer Forum Aschaffenburg Germany April 21-23
http://www.batteryuniversity.eu
SMT 2009 Nuremberg Germany May 5-7 http://www.mesago.de
PCIM Europe 2009 Nuremberg Germany May 12-14
http://www.mesago.de
Nana Power Forum Santa Clara CAMay 18-20 http://www.darnell.com
Sensor & Test 2009 Nuremberg Germany May 26-28
http://www.sensor-test.de
Intersolar 2009 Munich Germany May 27-29
http://www.intersolar.de
V I E W P O I N T
4
A MediaKatzbek 17a
D-24235 Laboe, Germany
Phone: +49 4343 42 17 90
Fax: +49 4343 42 17 89
www.bodospower.com
Publishing EditorBodo Arlt, [email protected]
Creative Direction & ProductionRepro Studio Peschke
Free Subscription to qualified readers
Bodo´s Power Systems
is available for the following
subscription charges:
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world wide
Single issue is 18 €
circulation
printrun
25000
Printing by:
Central-Druck Trost GmbH & Co
Heusenstamm, Germany
A Media and Bodos Power Systems
assume and hereby disclaim any
liability to any person for any loss or
damage by errors or omissions in the
material contained herein regardless of
whether such errors result from
negligence accident or any other cause
whatsoever.
Several current ranges from 6 to 50 ARMS
PCB mounted Up to 30% smaller size (height)Up to 8.2 mm Clearance / Creepagedistances +CTI 600 for high insulation
+5 V Single Supply Low offset and gain driftHigh Accuracy @ +85°C
Access to Voltage Reference Analog Voltage output
www.lem.com At the heart of power electronics.
Future precision. Future performance.Now available.
The transducers of tomorrow. LEM creates them today. Unbeatable in size, they are also adaptable and adjustable. Not to mention extremely precise. After all, they have been created to achieve great performance not only today – but as far into the future as you can imagine.
CAS-CASR-CKSR
6 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
N E W S
The Euro-
pean wind
energy sector
has created
33 new jobs
every day for the past five years. According
to the report, entitled, ‘Wind at Work – wind
energy and job creation in the EU’, jobs in
wind energy will more than double from
154,000 to 325,000 by 2020.
In 2007, wind energy increased more than
any other power generating technology in
the EU. The growth in installed wind capacity
has been matched by an increase in related
jobs. According to ‘Wind at Work’, the sector
employed 154,000 people in 2007 - 108,600
in direct jobs and the rest indirectly.
In terms of job profiles, the report shows that
turbine manufacturers are the main employ-
ers, with 37% of all direct jobs, followed by
component manufacturers and project devel-
opers. Where the Member States are con-
cerned, currently 75% of all direct wind ener-
gy jobs are to be found in the three ‘pioneer’
countries of Denmark, Germany and Spain,
but other countries, such as France, the UK
and Italy are now beginning to catch up.
Wind energy can give a huge boost to eco-
nomic welfare, offering greater energy inde-
pendence, lower energy costs, reduced fuel
price risks, improved competitiveness, tech-
nology exports and new jobs. ‘Wind at Work’
focuses on just one of the many economic
benefits of the industry, revealing the full
extent of the effect that supporting and
developing wind energy has on employment
in the EU.
www.ewea.org
Wind Energy Jobs to Double by 2020
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for
Solar Energy Systems ISE have achieved a
record efficiency of 41.1% for the conversion
of sunlight into electricity. Sunlight is concen-
trated by a factor of 454 and focused onto a
small 5mm² multi-junction solar cell made
out of GaInP/GaInAs/ Ge (gallium indium
phosphide, gallium indium arsenide on a
germanium substrate).
“We are elated by this breakthrough,” says
Frank Dimroth, head of the group III-V – Epi-
taxy and Solar Cells at Fraunhofer ISE. “At
all times the entire
team believed in our
concept of the meta-
morphic triple-junction
solar cells and our
success today is made possible only through
their committed work over the past years.”
Since 1999, Fraunhofer ISE has been devel-
oping metamorphic multi-junction solar cells,
which are a special type of solar cells using
III-V semiconductor compounds. These cells
are made out of thin Ga0.35In0.65P and
Ga0.83In0.17As layers on GaAs or Ge sub-
strates. These materials are especially suit-
able for converting sunlight into electricity.
They can be combined together, however,
only by applying a trick called metamorphic
growth. In contrast to conventional solar
cells, the semiconductors in these cells do
not have the same lattice constant (distance
between the atoms in a crystalline structure).
www.ise.fraunhofer.de
World Record: 41.1% Efficiency Reached for Multi-Junction Solar Cells
Mark Muegge – an
innovative force in
the development of
market-leading
offline products –
has been appointed
as CamSemi’s VP
Marketing. He joins
with immediate effect to take charge of all
corporate and product marketing activity and
to help define the next generation of power
management ICs that will be critical in fur-
ther strengthening CamSemi’s growing mar-
ket position and sales.
Muegge brings over 20 years’ semiconductor
industry experience into the company and an
exceptionally strong profile and background
in the power supply controller market. He
was the first employee to join iWatt’s
founders in 2000 and co-invented its primary
side sensing technology to develop simpler,
safer and lower cost power supplies.
www.camsemi.com
CamSemi Appoints Top Exec from iWatt
Mouser Electronics announced it has signed
a distribution agreement with Wurth Elec-
tronics Midcom, Inc., a dynamically growing
company that focuses on the manufacture of
inductors through its EMC & Inductive Solu-
tions unit.
Mouser stock includes inductors, EMC com-
ponents, common mode chokes, snap-on
ferrite line chokes, ferrite beads, and modu-
lar filtered jacks. Specifically, Mouser will
carry SMD-common mode choke design kits,
SMD-shielded tiny Power Inductors WE-
TPC, and a STAR-FIX ferrite bead cable
assembly with security key.
Known for its broad-based product line,
unsurpassed customer service, and stream-
lined warehouse operations, Mouser continu-
ously offers customers the most innovative
products and latest technologies for their
new design projects.
www.we-online.com
www.mouser.com
Mouser and Wurth / Midcom Sign Distribution Agreement
Fairchild Semiconductor has its sixth-annual European technical
seminars. These one day comprehensive seminars provide power
supply design engineers design techniques, product technologies
and industry trends to develop energy-efficient applications.
Fairchild’s European Power Seminars will be held in more than twen-
ty cities across Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Israel and
Turkey. A list of these locations, schedules and descriptions of each
technical session, as well as registration information is available at:
www.fairchildsemi.com/powerseminar/
European Power Seminars Provide Design Solutions
N E W S
7www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
Avnet, Inc.
announced
through its whol-
ly-owned sub-
sidiary, Electron
House (Over-
seas) Limited,
that its offer for
Abacus Group
Plc (Abacus) has
been declared
unconditional in all respects. As had been
previously announced, all shareholders of
Abacus will receive £0.55 per share, which
equates to an equity value of approximately
£42.2 million ($61.0 million) and a transac-
tion value of £97.9 million ($141.6 million)
assuming a net debt position for Abacus of
£55.7 million ($80.6 million) as of September
30, 2008. The purchase price has declined
approximately 20% as a result of the
strengthening of the US dollar versus the
British pound since the transaction was ini-
tially announced on October 10, 2008. Aba-
cus will be integrated into Avnet’s European
Electronics Marketing business.
Patrick Zammit, president of Avnet Electron-
ics Marketing EMEA, stated, “As we develop
our integration plan we are impressed with
the caliber of Abacus’ organization and are
excited about potential growth opportunities
once the integration is complete. We will
enhance our competitive position across the
region and become an industry leader not
just in semiconductors but also in IP&E, dis-
plays and embedded solutions.
www.avnet.com
Avnet Acquires ABACUS GROUP PLC
American Superconductor Corporation and
Northrop Grumman Corporation announced
at the Surface Navy Association’s 21st
National Symposium the successful comple-
tion of full-power testing of the world’s first
36.5 megawatt (49,000 horsepower) high
temperature superconductor (HTS) ship
propulsion motor at the U.S. Navy’s Integrat-
ed Power System Land-Based Test Site in
Philadelphia. This is the first successful full-
power test of an electric propulsion motor
sized for a large Navy combatant and, at
36.5 megawatts, doubled the Navy’s power
rating test record.
This system was designed and built under a
contract from the Office of Naval Research
to demonstrate the efficacy of HTS motors
as the primary propulsion technology for
future Navy all-electric ships and sub-
marines. Naval Sea Systems Command
(NAVSEA) funded and led the successful
testing of the motor.
Incorporating coils of HTS wire that are able
to carry 150 times the power of similar-sized
copper wire, the motor is less than half the
size of conventional motors used on the first
two DDG-1000 hulls and will reduce ship
weight by nearly 200 metric tons. It will help
make new ships more fuel-efficient.
HTS rotating machine technology is also
being applied to the renewable energy
industry. Wind generator systems utilizing
HTS wire instead of copper wire are expect-
ed to be much smaller, lighter and more effi-
cient than current systems. This will lower
the cost of wind-generated electricity – par-
ticularly for offshore wind farms.
www.amsc.com
Superconductor 36,5 Megawatt Ship Propulsion Motor
Everlight Electronics
announced the
restructuring of the
company’s business
units to better posi-
tion themselves as a
leader in the fast-
growing, global LED industry. Everlight’s
organizational changes will help the compa-
ny respond to the worldwide demand for
more environmentally friendly LED lighting.
In addition to reflecting Everlight’s commit-
ment to developing brighter and more effi-
cient LEDs, the business realignment rein-
forces the company’s mission to provide out-
standing customer service.
Everlight has restructured its company
organization under a Production Business
Group and a Sales and Marketing Business
Group. As part of this restructuring, Everlight
has instituted the following management
appointments:
Pang Yen Liu, previously Everlight’s Execu-
tive Vice President, is now General Manager
of the Production Business Group. Mr. Liu
joined Everlight in 1986 where he has held
various executive positions including Execu-
tive Vice President of Everlight Electronics.
Bernd Kammerer, COO and CEO of the
America and European Offices, has been
promoted to General Manager of the Sales
and Marketing Business Group.Mr. Kammer-
er joined Everlight in 1999 as General Man-
ager for Everlight Europe GmbH and has
held various executive positions including
COO of Everlight Americas.
Stephan Greiner, a new addition to the
Everlight management team, now serves as
Global Vice President of Sales under Mr.
Kammerer’s business unit. Mr. Greiner
comes to Everlight after six years at Osram
Opto Semiconductor where he served as
Senior Director Sales Europe and Emerging
Markets.
This reorganization allows Everlight to con-
tinue its efforts to pursue the requirements of
the LED lighting industry, while simultane-
ously fulfilling its customers’ needs for new
product offerings, service and technical sup-
port.
www.everlight.com
Realigns Business Units to Harness Growth in LED Lighting
As of January 01,
2009, ALPS Electric
Co., Ltd. appointed Mr.
Yoichiro Kega (48) as
president for ALPS
ELECTRIC EUROPE
GmbH, based at the
European headquarters
in Düsseldorf. Yoichiro
Kega succeeds Mr. Yukio Sagisaka, who
returned to Japan in December 2008 to take
care of new tasks at the Sales & Marketing
headquarters in Tokyo.
In the new position Mr. Kega is responsible
for further strategic developments and the
successful implementation of the company’s
products in the European market. ALPS is a
leading manufacturer of electromechanic
components, with five main business seg-
ments providing versatile innovative elec-
tronic products: mechatronic and magnetic
components as well as components for com-
munications electronics, peripheral products
and automotive electronics.
www.alps.com
Mr. Yoichiro Kega as New President
8 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
N E W S
Henkel announced the appointment of Mr. Luc Godefroid as the com-
pany’s Global Sales Director for its Semiconductor Group. A key
member of Henkel’s electronics sales team since 2001, Godefroid’s
new role sees him building on his previous success and directing the
global sales efforts of Henkel’s worldwide team and expanded prod-
uct portfolio.
Following Henkel’s recent acquisition of the Adhesives and Electron-
ics Materials businesses from National Starch and Chemical Compa-
ny, Godefroid was tapped to head the Project Management Office,
the group of leaders selected to facilitate and communicate all inte-
gration activities.
www.henkel.com/electronics
Global Sales Director for Semiconductor Materials
International Exhibition with Workshops
on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)
10 - 12 March 2009, Exhibition Centre
Stuttgart, Germany
From 10 – 12 March 2009 Europe’s EMC
industry will meet again at “EMV 2009” in
Stuttgart, Germany - International Exhibition
with Workshops on Electromagnetic Compat-
ibility.
Regarding the development, production and
marketing of electric and electronic products,
EMC is a crucial quality feature. The trade
fair comprises a wide range of information
and training possibilities as well as the
chance to discuss solutions with experts
face to face. Exhibition and workshops under
one roof offer the participants a time and
cost effective way getting to know the cur-
rent state of EMC.
On 3.600 square meters over 100 leading
companies of the industry will present the
latest trends and developments of their prod-
ucts and services.
As in previous years, the trade visitors com-
ing from all over the world will benefit from a
comprehensive overview and insight into the
EMC field.
In 36 German and English speaking work-
shops leading international experts will pres-
ent and inform about the newest trendsetting
technical, methodological and legal circum-
stances and about the latest EMC stan-
dards. During the half-day workshops, Engi-
neers and technicians involved in project
planning and development of electronic sys-
tems and devices, in quality assurance and
certification as well as EMC test engineers
and test lab technicians will obtain answers
to the questions which tax them every day.
Five workshops will be held in English by
leading EMC professionals:
The detailed workshop program, the current
exhibitor list and further information on the
event are available at the EMV 2009 web-
site.
www.e-emc.com
EMV 2009 Stuttgart
1: High Power Factor or High Efficiency –
You Can have Both
2: Reducing EMI from SMPS by Applying
Spread Spectrum Techniques
3: Under the Hood of DC/DC Boost Convert-
er Design
4: Improving System Efficiency With a New
Intermediate Bus Architecture
5: High-Voltage Energy Storage – The Key
to Efficient Hold Up
6: Using a PMBus for Improved System-
Level Power Management
7: Applying Digital Technology to PWM Con-
trol Loop Designs
8: An Introduction to New Products for More
Effective Power Solutions
TI 2009 Power Supply Design Seminar dur-
ing March and April in Europe and Middle
East.
For registration please visit:
www.ti.com/psds-bd
Eight Topics at Texas Instruments Power Seminars
Husum 2009 (12 - 15 March 2009) There are a large number of
providers of small-scale wind turbines, using the most varied engi-
neering and designs. And the applications for small wind turbines are
virtually boundless. Electricity generated by small-scale windmills in
gardens or on roofs, or on larger plots or farms is often used locally
or fed into the grid. The latest storage options have increased the
benefits of having your own turbine enormously. In combination with
other new regenerative energy systems like heat pumps, combined
heat and power plants, hydroelectric and solar plants, the use of
small-scale wind turbines provides a comprehensive, climate-friendly,
economical and convenient electricity and heat supply.
www.new-energy-husum.de
New Energy Husum Presents Small-Scale Wind Turbines
AAdvanced Powertronics custom designs Intelligent Automatic
Searchable Cross Reference System (IASCRS) with several unique
and useful features. All major manufacturers of Power Semiconduc-
tors want to attract new customers and a very successful way of
doing this is to help the new customers in replacing his existing bill of
materials with exact or near equivalent parts/components. Advanced
Powertronics can take up this task and successfully design and com-
mission computer based Intelligent Automatic Searchable Cross Ref-
erence System (IASCRS) that allows for future expansion, editing
and modification. It also has a facility to track and record all changes
made and provides password protection for such editing. All semicon-
ductors such as Bipolar Transistor, MOSFET, IGBT, FRED, Schottky,
Rectifier Diode, Rectifier Diode Module, Thyristor, Thyristor/Thyristor
module, Thyristor/Diode Module, MOSFET module, IGBT Module in
different topologies such as Boost, Buck, H-Bridge, 3-Phase Bridge
plus other topologies and Power management ICs can be included in
such IASCRS.
The IASCRS can also incorporate many old or obsolete parts and
enlist equivalent parts, which are newer or current to facilitate the
customer in making his design up-to-date. Similarly The IASCRS
helps in locating newer equivalent RoHS compliant parts for older
parts, which were not RoHS compliant.
www.advancedpowertronics.com
Intelligent Automatic Searchable Cross Reference System
N O RT H A M E R I CA+1 800-625-4084
A S I A PA C I F I C+852 2376-0801
J A PA N+81 (3) 5226-7757
E U R O P E / U K+44 (0) 1628-891-300
L E A R N M O R E AT
www.cirrus.com© 2009 Cirrus Logic, Inc. All rights reserved. Cirrus Logic, Cirrus, the Cirrus Logic logo designs, Apex Precision Power, Apex and the Apex Precision Power logo
designs are trademarks of Cirrus Logic, Inc. All other brands and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. BPS32009
innovationinnovation
For product selection assistance or technical support with Apex Precision Power™ products please contact [email protected]
Product Innovation from Cirrus Logic
64-PIN QFP, PACKAGE SYTLE HQJEDEC M0-188
(actual footprint 17.45mm X 17.45mm)
Drive 9 V to 60 V Motors With Single IC SolutionNew PWM IC delivers 17A PEAK of output current to drivebrush DC motors on voltage supplies < 9 V up to 60 V
As the newest addition to Cirrus Logic’s Apex Precision Power™ motor drive product family, the SA57-IHZ
delivers the industry’s highest performance for a pulse width modulation (PWM) IC by combining output
current of 17 A PEAK with supply voltage operation up to 60 V. This single IC solution features a 64-pin
PowerQuad package measuring less than two centimeters square to reduce board space requirements by
up to 70 percent when compared with alternative discrete solutions. The fully assembled DB63 demo board
is the easiest way to evaluate the performance potential of the SA57-IHZ to drive motor control circuits in
industrial, aerospace and military applications.
APPLICATIONS
Motor Drives – Industrial Controls
° Factory Automation
° Robotics
Motor Drives – Office Equipment
° Copiers, Fax Machines
° Vending Machines
Motor Drives – Aerospace, Military
° Positioning Control
° Aircraft Seating
Model Motor Interface
Supply VoltageOperation
OutputCurrent
ProductionVolume Pricing
10K Pieces USD*
SA57-IHZBrush
DC Motor
< 9 V to 60 V
Single Supply
5 A continuous
17 A PEAK$7.15
SA57A-FHZBrush
DC Motor
< 9 V to 60 V
Single Supply
8 A continuous
17 A PEAK$9.05
SA306-IHZBrushless
DC Motor
< 9 V to 60 V
Single Supply
5 A continuous
17 A PEAK$9.90
SA306A-FHZBrushless
DC Motor
< 9 V to 60 V
Single Supply
8 A continuous
17 A PEAK$12.85
* per unit pricing for production estimating only; actual per unit cost through distribution may vary
Picor, a subsidiary of Vicor Corpora-
tion specializing in the design and
development of high performance
power management solutions, today
announced the Cool-ORing™ Family
of full-function Active ORing solutions
(PI2121, PI2122, PI2123, PI2125)
and discrete Active ORing controllers
(PI2001, PI2002, PI2003). These
solutions address the requirements
of redundant power architectures
implemented in today’s high-avail-
ability systems such as servers,
high-end computing and telecom and
communications infrastructure sys-
tems.
Key Points:
· Family of full-function active ORing solu-
tions and discrete active ORing controllers
· Extremely small, high density full-function
solutions available in 5mm x 7mm LGA
package, enabling over 50% space reduc-
tion
· Fast dynamic response (typically within
160 ns)
· Power dissipation of solutions as low as
one tenth of diode ORing, significantly
reducing thermal management overhead
· Low MOSFET on-state resistances down
to 1.5 mOhm
· Master/slave feature allowing paralleling of
solutions for high-current Active ORing
requirements
The Cool-ORing PI2121 / PI2123 / PI2125
are complete full-function Active ORing solu-
tions with integrated high-speed ORing
MOSFET controllers and very low on-state
resistance MOSFETs. They address a vari-
ety of redundant bus applications, providing
very low power dissipation while achieving
very fast dynamic response, typically within
160 ns, to system level power source fault
conditions. The PI2121 is an 8 V, 24 A solu-
tion suitable for ≤5 Vbus applications, the
PI2123 is a 15 V, 15 A solution suitable for
≤9.6 Vbus applications and the PI2125 is a
30 V, 12 A solution suitable for 12 Vbus
applications.
The PI2121 / PI2123 / PI2125 solutions are
offered in extremely small, high density, ther-
mally enhanced 5 mm x 7 mm land grid
array packages, maintaining full current rat-
ings over a wide range of operating temper-
ature. The high level of density is enabled by
integrating a very low on-state resistance
MOSFET into each product. The typical on-
state resistances are 1.5 mOhm, 3 mOhm
and 5.5 mOhm respectively for the PI2121,
PI2123 & PI2125. Each product can also be
paralleled to address higher current require-
ments through a master / slave feature,
enabling an extremely scalable solution for a
wide range of Active ORing requirements.
The PI2121 / PI2123 / PI2125 detect normal
forward, excessive forward, light load, and
reverse current flow through their internal
MOSFETs, and report fault conditions via an
active low fault flag output. A temperature
sensing function indicates a fault if the maxi-
mum junction temperature exceeds 160°C.
The under-voltage and over-voltage thresh-
olds are programmable via external resistor
dividers.
The PI2001 is a discrete high-speed Active
ORing controller with similar functionality
and feature set, for use with industry stan-
dard single or paralleled MOSFETs.
The PI2003 controller is specifically opti-
mized for use in -48 V redundant power
architectures, and is suitable for systems
requiring operation during input voltage tran-
sients up to 100 V for 100 ms. The low qui-
escent current of the PI2003 enables simple
low-loss biasing directly from the -48 V rail.
The Cool-ORing PI2122 is a com-
plete full-function Active ORing solu-
tion with a circuit breaker feature,
integrating a high-speed MOSFET
controller and very low on-state
resistance MOSFET in the high den-
sity thermally enhanced 5 mm x 7
mm land grid array package. It is
designed for use in redundant power
system architectures, suitable for ≤5
Vbus applications where added pro-
tection against load fault conditions
is required. The PI2122 is a 7 V, 12
A solution with integrated back-to-
back configured MOSFETs with an
effective 6mOhm typical on-state resistance
enabling very high efficiency. It provides
very fast dynamic response to both input
power source and output load fault condi-
tions, typically within 140 ns and 170 ns
respectively, acting as a true bi-directional
switch. In addition to responding to a reverse
current fault condition, when the PI2122
detects excessive forward current, over tem-
perature, under and over-voltage faults, it
will rapidly turn-off the internal MOSFETs to
provide a load disconnect feature. The
PI2122 also provides a user programmable
auto-retry off-time during excessive forward
current fault conditions.
The PI2002 is a high-speed Active ORing
controller IC with a load disconnect feature
that functions similar to the PI2122, but is
designed for use with industry standard
back-to-back N-channel MOSFETs.
The Cool-ORing solutions can substantially
reduce power dissipation by up to ten times
versus conventional diode ORing solutions,
eliminating the need for unnecessary ther-
mal management overhead, while reducing
board real estate by over 50% and maintain-
ing benchmark dynamic response versus
conventional Active ORing solutions.
The discrete Cool-ORing controllers are
each available in two packages: the 3 mm x
3 mm 10-lead TDFN and the 8-lead SOIC
package
www.picorpower.com
10 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
P R O D U C T O F T H E M O N T H
Cool-ORingTM Family Targeting Redundant Power
Architectures
Knowledge isKnowledge is powerpower is our knowis our knowledge
Fuji Electric Device Technology Europe GmbHGoethering 58 · 63067 Offenbach am Main · GermanyFon +49(0)69 - 66 90 29 0 · Fax +49(0)69 - 66 90 29 56 · [email protected] · www.fujielectric.de
Fuji_advertisement_10/08.indd 1 16.10.2008 12:54:24 Uhr
12 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
LEM has introduced several ranges of PCB-mounted current trans-
ducers housed in a package 30 percent smaller than the company’s
LTS devices. The CAS, CASR and CKSR family of transducers are
intended for AC and DC isolated current measurement from 6 to
50ARMS nominal, up to 3 times the nominal values for the peak
measurement and up to 300kHz (+/-3dB). All the models (6 ARMS,
15 ARMS, 25 ARMS and 50 ARMS) are housed in the same compact
package and can be set up on PCB according to the needs for differ-
ent ranges from 1.5 ARMS to 50 ARMS (according to the models).
Key points:
• Several current ranges from 6 to 50ARMS in the same compact
design
• 30 percent smaller than equivalent devices
• High accuracy at +85°C with low offset and gain drift
• Multi-range configuration
• Up to 8.2 mm clearance/creepage distances
The new transducers have been specially designed to respond to the
technology advances in drives and inverters, which require better
performance in areas such as common-mode influence, thermal drifts
(offset and gain; Max thermal offset drift for the models with refer-
ence access: 7 to 30 ppm/K according to the models), response time
(less than 0.3 microseconds), levels of insulation and size.
To obtain this performance the Closed Loop Fluxgate technology has
been used. This enables LEM to combine high accuracy and attrac-
tive price without compromising any of the advantages of the LTS
family, such as size, dynamic performance and wide measuring
range.
Although the new transducers are 30 percent smaller than the exist-
ing LTS family, their insulation performance allows use in industrial
applications without a special layout of the PCB. The CTI (Compara-
tive Tracking Index) of the plastic case is 600. The CKSR model has
one more primary pin than the three pins of the CAS and CASR
models and a different primary footprint enabling higher creepage
and clearance distances of 8.2mm to be achieved. This is particularly
useful when higher insulation is required in applications with high
working voltages such as 600 VRMS according to the EN 50178
standard.
Moreover, this additional primary pin allows a configuration of the
CKSR 6-NP model for a nominal current range of 1.5 ARMS.
All transducer models have been designed for direct mounting onto a
printed circuit board for primary and secondary connections. They all
operate from a single 5 V supply. The CASR and CKSR models pro-
vide their internal reference voltage to a VREF pin. An external volt-
age reference between 0 and 4V can also be applied to this pin.
The CAS, CASR and CKSR family of transducers are suitable for
industrial applications such as variable speed drives, UPS, SMPS, air
conditioning, home appliances, solar inverters and also precision sys-
tems such as servo drives for wafer production and high-accuracy
robots.
LEM
LEM is a market leader in providing innovative and high quality solu-
tions for measuring electrical parameters. Its core products – current
and voltage transducers – are used in a broad range of applications
in industrial, traction, energy, automation and automotive markets.
LEM’s strategy is to exploit the intrinsic strengths of its core busi-
ness, and develop opportunities in new markets with new applica-
tions. LEM is a mid-size, global company with approximately 900
employees worldwide. It has production plants in Geneva (Switzer-
land), Machida (Japan), Beijing (China), plus regional sales offices,
and offers a seamless service worldwide. Further information is avail-
able at: www.lem.com
www.lem.com
B L U E P R O D U C T O F T H E M O N T H
Fluxgate Technology to Reduce Current Transducer
Size by 30 Percent
14 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Considering the challenging economic condi-
tions ahead of us, this is a good time to con-
sider what we can do collectively and indi-
vidually to spark renewed economic growth.
One way is to enable clean, low cost energy
generation and to improve energy conserva-
tion. Power management semiconductor
suppliers are well-positioned in that we are
the enablers of energy-efficient electronics.
Our products are critical for the expansion of
alternative energy technologies such as
solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric
power in various forms. We have the tech-
nology at our disposal to dramatically lower
the power consumption of households, busi-
nesses, and industry with more efficient
appliances, air conditioning, lighting, comput-
ing, entertainment, communications, and
motors of all kinds. There is also a transfor-
mation underway in our means of transporta-
tion, with a move away from combustible
fuels to electrical energy as the cleanest
source of power. No industry has driven
more dramatic change in our lifestyles, our
productivity, and our standard of living than
the semiconductor industry. We will continue
to do so in the information technology and
consumer electronics field, but the impact
we can have in coming years through
improvements in the cost, accessibility, and
efficient use of energy resources could be
even more significant.
The calls for clean, renewable sources of
energy have been growing continuously
louder as it is more obvious every day that
global climate change caused by human
activity is reality. Why haven’t we heard the
call for conservation and energy efficient
systems with the same fierce intensity?
There is certainly progress and increased
awareness. It just isn’t enough. Part of the
reason is the stigma created by the percep-
tion that conservation means doing without.
It doesn’t have to be. In fact, the opposite is
often really the case. It has been shown that
the investment required to cut energy use
though more efficient electronic systems is a
small fraction of the investment to generate
that excess power, without the negative
effects on the atmosphere and the environ-
ment.
We should support large scale infrastructure
investments in solar and wind power, no
doubt. Meanwhile, we should also make
sure a proportional investment is going into
advanced power electronic technology to
convert the raw power generated into usable
forms. We should also work to create a
favorable environment for small scale distrib-
uted power generators, on the scale of
homes, farms, and commercial buildings.
Then we should create more incentives to
improve the energy efficiency of the lighting,
environmental control, convenience, and
entertainment features of those same users
of power.
Semiconductor suppliers need to continue to
innovate in areas that can put less of a bur-
den on the power grid. A prime example is
lighting. Incandescent lighting simply need to
be a thing of the past as quickly as possible.
An average incandescent bulb’s efficiency is
15 lumens/Watt and 1,000 lifetime hours
whereas LEDs offer as high as 50
lumens/Watt and 50,000 lifetime hours. The
high brightness LED itself is a semiconduc-
tor product enabled by advanced technology
in the wide bandgap compound semiconduc-
tor field of Gallium Nitride and Silicon Car-
bide. Even the common fluorescent lamp is
environmentally unfriendly with the gas it
contains. Eventually, even linear fluorescent
tube lighting will be completely replaced by
semiconductor technologies.
LED and other efficient lighting technologies
such as compact fluorescent lamps are pow-
ered with efficient semiconductor based
power supplies using the latest power
switching and control chips. Fairchild’s new
SuperFET™ technology, sometimes referred
to as “charge balance” or “superjunction”
technology, is making these supplies small-
er, less expensive, and more efficient.
Improved processes and device designs for
integrating power devices and control cir-
cuits are in development and becoming
available that enable the fully integrated
“power supply on a chip” for the 5-20W
power range of these applications.
Ordinary appliances such as washing
machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, and
fans are achieving higher levels of efficiency
through semiconductor technology. In these
and other common motion applications, the
common AC induction constant speed motor
needs to be eliminated, to be replaced with
variable speed permanent magnet DC
motors and electronic drives. The gains in
efficiency are staggering, sometimes cutting
losses that were once as much as the power
delivered, 50% efficiency, to less than 10%
of the power delivered, or 90% efficient, due
to the ability to optimize the motor speed for
the application and load. Improved power
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT)
and Ultrafast Recovery Diodes make a lot of
this possible. Advanced laser annealing
techniques, ultra-thin silicon wafers, and
radiation to improve switching performance
are several techniques that are enabling
reductions in energy waste. New technolo-
gies are in development that combine these
two components on a single chip, and lower
the losses. The inevitable power loss gener-
ates heat that is best managed with
advanced “Smart Power Modules (SPM®).”
These make use of continuing developments
in “system-in-a-package” technology that
keeps the system cool and efficiently inter-
connected with minimum power loss and
electromagnetic interference with other elec-
tronics.
Society has now recognized the need to
change the way we live. Consumers are
picking up the mantle of green and doing
their part to reduce their environmental foot-
print. Governmental agencies and interest
groups such as ENERGY STAR®, Green
Grid™ and Climate Savers™ are initiating
stringent energy-efficiency specifications to
lessen the burden on the power grid and
batteries. Since most of these measures
involve electronics, semiconductor suppliers
are vital in seeing that OEMs can meet
specifications and consumers can purchase
electronics that optimize power. And all of
the alternative technologies are harnessing
the power of the sun and wind to create one
of the cleanest forms of energy – electricity.
In all of this, semiconductor suppliers can
make a tremendous difference.
www.Fairchildsemi.com
G U E S T E D I T O R I A L
Put Less of a Burden on the Power Grid
Dan Kinzer, Senior VP of Analog, MOSFET, and Packaging Technology
International Exhibition& Conference forPOWER ELECTRONICSINTELLIGENT MOTIONPOWER QUALITY12 – 14 May 2009Exhibition Centre Nuremberg
2009
Power for Efficiency!
Veranstalter/Organizer:Mesago PCIM GmbH, Rotebühlstr. 83-85, D-70178 Stuttgart, Tel. +49 711 61946-56, E-mail: [email protected]
MesagoPCIM
16 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
M A R K E T
ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY DIGESTBy Aubrey Dunford, Europartners
GENERAL
European new pas-
senger car registra-
tions fell by 7.8 per-
cent to 14,712,158
units in 2008, record-
ing the sharpest
decline since 1993, so
the ACEA. Worldwide
PC shipments totaled
302.2 million units in 2008, a 10.9 percent
increase from 2007, so Gartner.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Members of France’s Sitelesc reported semi-
conductor market revenues in 2008 down
13.3 percent (on a euro basis) compared to
2007 (-14.2 percent in integrated circuits and
–8.9 percent in discretes). December 2008
sales were down 24.4 percent compared to
the average three previous months (-26.7
percent in integrated circuits and –13.8 per-
cent in discretes).
Sanyo will embark on a structural reform of
the semiconductor business, including per-
sonnel cuts. The personnel cuts will extend
to a total of 1,200 regular and temporary
employees, including 800 in Japan and 400
in other countries. Focusing its management
resources on the power semiconductor busi-
ness, it will downsize the SoC business.
Melexis, a Belgian company which delivers
mixed signal semiconductors and sensor ICs
for automotive electronics systems, has
decided a global workforce reduction of 10
percent. Linear Technology,a manufacturer
of linear integrated circuits, reported approxi-
mately $ 1.6 M in restructuring expenses for
employee severance costs related to a
reduction in workforce of approximately 100
employees. Avago Technologies, a supplier
of analog semiconductor devices, will reduce
the number of its employees by approxi-
mately 230, or about 6 percent of total head-
count.
Micrel, a supplier in analog, high bandwidth
communications, and Ethernet IC solutions,
and Cyan,a British supplier of embedded
processor solutions for networking and
industrial control/communications, will devel-
op subsystem level module products target-
ed at automated meter reading infrastruc-
ture, public lighting management, Ethernet
gateways and RF sensor network markets.
ABB, specializing in power and automation
technologies, has invested 150 million Swiss
francs to expand its highpower semiconduc-
tor manufacturing plant in Lenzburg, Switzer-
land, so EETimes. The expansion is due for
completion by 2010.
Japanese chip cleaning equipment maker
S.E.S. filed for bankruptcy protection, hurt by
sliding orders and tight credit lines as memo-
ry chip makers slashed or even froze spend-
ing. .
OPTOELECTRONICS
LEDs are expected to enjoy a revenue
increase of 2.9 percent in 2009, following
10.8 percent growth in 2008.
PASSIVE COMPONENTS
German PCB market posted a 14 percent
year-on-year decline in October 2008, so the
ZVEI/VdL. For the first 10 months of 2008,
cumulative revenues are slightly down by 1
percent compared to the same period in the
previous year. Cumulative orders for the first
10 months of 2008 are almost the same
level as the previous year. Book-to-bill ratio
in October was at 1.29.
After the integration of the Evox Rifa and
Arcotronics DC film and paper operations,
Kemet announces the consolidation of its
DC Film and paper operations into one busi-
ness unit. Andreas Floegel is appointed
Senior Director DC Film and Paper Business
Unit.
OTHER COMPONENTS
Worldwide electronic design automation
(EDA) industry revenue for Q3 2008
declined 10.9 percent to $ 1258.6 M com-
pared to Q3 2007, so the EDA Consortium.
The four quarter moving average declined
2.8 percent. Western Europe revenue was
down 12.9 percent in Q3 2008 compared to
Q3 2007, with revenues of $ 247.7 M. The
four quarter moving average growth for
Western Europe was up 3.9 percent.
DISTRIBUTION
Avnet has completed the acquisition of Aba-
cus Group for an equity value of approxi-
mately £ 42.2 M ($ 61.0 M) and a transac-
tion value of £ 97.9 M ($ 141.6 M) assuming
a net debt position for Abacus of £ 55.7 M ($
80.6 M) as of September 30, 2008. The pur-
chase price has declined approximately 20
percent as a result of the strengthening of
the US dollar versus the British pound since
the transaction was initially announced on
October 10, 2008. Founded in 1972, Abacus
is focused on delivering design-in and tech-
nical support for a portfolio that includes 180
supplier franchises covering semiconductor,
interconnect and electromechanical (IP&E)
products.
Avnet reported revenue of $ 4.27 billion for
second quarter fiscal 2009 ended December
27, 2008, representing a decrease of 10.2
percent over second quarter fiscal 2008. Net
income for second quarter fiscal 2009 was $
112.3 M, as compared with net income of $
142.2 M for the second quarter last year.
Avnet Memec announced the extension of
its distribution agreement with Coilcraft. The
strategic partnership will be extended to Aus-
tria, Switzerland, Benelux, the Baltic States,
East Europe, Turkey and Greece.
EBV Elektronik, an Avnet company, and
Nuventix announced a buy-sell distribution
agreement in EMEA whereby EBV Elektronik
will distribute Nuventix’ full line of cooling
solutions.
Rutronik has entered into a European-wide
franchise agreement with Intersil, a manu-
facturer of analogue products.
This is the comprehensive power related
extract from the « Electronics Industry Digest
», the successor of The Lennox Report. For
a full subscription of the report contact:
by fax 44/1494 563503.
www.europartners.eu.com
Power Density – Next Level of Energy EfficiencySolutions for Industrial Applications with extended lifetime
The Infineon IGBT trench gate structure has dramatically improved the
performance of the IGBT in terms of VCEsat values. This feature has made
power switches more efficient, and Infineon is able to build modules with
up to 50 % higher power density.
Key features:
Complete portfolio for infrastructure and mobility applications
Wide product range from 1200V up to 6500V and from 150A
up to 3600A
2 times higher power cycling capability even at 150°C operating
temperature
Increased mechanical robustness due to welded terminals
„IRIS“ certified: new International Railway Industry Standard
Portfolio
Power Cycling
[ www.infineon.com/power ]
18 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
With so many companies pulling back resources in anticipation of a
dismal financial year, it is perhaps surprising that one area is showing
not only strength, but promise of even more growth over the next few
years. A convergence of technologies is occurring that will change
how buildings are powered. These technologies include photo-
voltaics, wind turbines, fuel cells, microturbines, solid-state light-emit-
ting diodes (LEDs), wireless building automation systems, and
demand side management of building energy use by utilities.
The opportunities are in the potential use of both high-voltage and
low-voltage dc distribution in buildings. Until recently, most attention
has been paid to high-voltage dc distribution in large facilities such as
data centers. There are even greater opportunities for the use of low-
voltage dc distribution, however, as part of a hybrid ac and dc power
structure for industrial, commercial, government and even residential
buildings. The use of dc distribution can complement other trends in
building power, including the growth of “green” energy sources, the
use of wireless building automation systems, demand side manage-
ment, high-efficiency lighting, and more. These can reduce construc-
tion and operating costs, improve flexibility and enhance sustainabili-
ty.
Supporting these trends are efforts to develop standards that will
enable rapid commercial adoption of these technologies. An interna-
tional community of stakeholders is working together to promote the
rapid adoption of safe, integrated products, including component and
equipment makers, distributed and co-generation system makers,
industry organizations, utilities, government and major facilities
builders and operators.
In Europe, the Leonardo ENERGY initiative is dedicated to building
information centers to serve designers, engineers, contractors, archi-
tects, general managers and others involved with electrical power. In
a white paper, Leonardo states that, “DC power distribution holds the
most advantage for the connection of emerging technologies for on-
site power generation and energy storage, as a significant amount of
this equipment delivers power in the form of DC or alternatively as
high frequency AC, which then requires an intermittent DC conver-
sion. Having a suitable DC bus available in the distribution architec-
ture saves at least one power conversion, and its associated losses
and chance of failure.”
On the low-voltage side, the recently formed EMerge Alliance pro-
motes “the rapid adoption of safe, low-voltage DC power distribution
and use in commercial building interiors.” EMerge is focused on
developing a global standard that integrates interior infrastructures,
power, controls and a wide variety of peripheral devices, such as
lighting, in a common platform. The standard is expected to be com-
pleted in 2009, with registered products and services that meet the
standard arriving soon after.
These organizational activities are further supported by general
industry standards. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning (ASHRAE) says it is “committed to substantially
reducing energy use in buildings.” It has released an addendum to
the ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings
Except Low Rise Residential Buildings, which provides minimum
requirements for the energy efficient design of buildings. The adden-
dum incorporates utilization of on-site, renewable energy resources,
as well as lighting efficiencies.
Numerous research efforts are underway worldwide related to dc
powering, as well. A Japanese research group recently conducted a
verification test to charge a lithium-ion secondary battery module with
dc power generated by solar cells and supply it to home appliances
without ac conversion. According to its estimates, by using 1kW-
equivalent solar cell panels and making home appliances that sup-
port a dc supply, the amount of CO2 emissions generated by a typi-
cal household over a period of four hours can be slashed by about
40%.
Even though this is still a research effort, it reflects more commercial
announcements in Japan. At CEATEC Japan 2008, a number of
companies, including Sharp Corp and TDK Corp. revealed their “DC
house” concepts, in which dc power is directly supplied into houses,
combining solar cells and rechargeable batteries.
Panasonic reportedly wants to become an “unparalleled company” in
the field of energy management by combining the “energy creation”
offered by Panasonic’s fuel cells and Sanyo’s solar cells; the “energy
storage” of both companies’ lithium-ion secondary batteries; and the
“energy conservation” cultivated in the development of its digital
devices, home appliances and components. The company is expect-
ed to enter the dc power supply system market, along with Sharp
and TDK. The development of home-use dc power supply systems is
being supported by Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd, who
announced the market release of its hybrid feeder panel for both dc
and ac power supplies, slated for 2010.
Netpower Labs AB is a Swedish company that develops dc-based
back-up power systems for data centers and tele/datacom systems.
The company has a 400V DC uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
that can be configured for 1.5 up to 162kW. Customers include Gnes-
ta Municipality, Sweden; Elicom, Sweden; NTT Japan; France Tele-
com; Ericsson AB, Sweden; and Söderhamn Teknikpark, Sweden.
NTT started testing 380Vdc data center powering in October, 2008,
including the operation check of the device. Power systems of 300V
or higher can be operated if an earth leakage breaker is used. The
company plans to use the earth leakage breaker in the test service.
M A R K E T
Green Buildings Open Up Opportunities
by Linnea BrushSenior Research Analyst, Darnell Group
MAKING MODERN LIVING POSSIBLE
Power made easy!
Danfoss Silicon Power GmbH • Heinrich-Hertz-Straße 2 • D-24837 Schleswig, Germany • Tel.: +49 4621 9512-0 • Fax: +49 4621 9512-310
E-mail: [email protected] • http://siliconpower.danfoss.com
Four sizes Power terminals good for 450 A Flexible pin-outIGBT’s and MOSFET’s from world class manufacturers Low and high voltage
For industry, transportation and automotive
We design and manufacture to your needs.
99
37
MAR K E T
Recent partnerships are furthering the use of combined heat and
power (CHP) with utility companies in the UK. Among the “best”
opportunities for dc powering include applications where fuel cells
could be used. Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) announced in
February, 2009, that they had extended their exclusive agreement
with utility company E.On to further develop their micro CHP systems
in the UK. Under the terms of the new agreement, E.ON and CFCL
will collaborate on a joint development project to commercialize
mCHP units designed specifically for the UK, based on CFCL’s GEN-
NEX fuel cell module. The commercialization project is currently
scheduled to run from 2009 to 2012 in a number of stages, subject to
performance criteria, with the UK market launch expected to follow
thereafter. Provided the technical and commercial milestones can be
achieved, this would represent the start of commercial fuel cell CHP
adoption in the UK.
Validus DC Systems is an American company providing fully integrat-
ed dc power infrastructure for data centers and telecommunications
facilities. The company’s “Hybrid Power” technology combines ac
system design and dc energy efficiency, offering scalability, reliability
and modularity, with claims of improving energy efficiency by up to
40%.
The company’s patented technology is configurable to support any dc
voltage level, converting high-voltage dc to the appropriate voltage
required at the server row and rack. A modular and scalable system
is capable of providing power densities up to 500 watts per square
foot, deployable in dc pods ranging in size from 350kW up to 2.5MW.
End-use solutions include mission critical rectifier plants, -575 VDC to
-48 VDC distribution equipment and stored energy systems.
A problem associated with the use of dc powering is “equipment
compatibility.” This is already a problem being addressed by several
of the targeted applications for dc distribution, such as distributed
and co-generation and wireless building automation systems. By get-
ting in on the “ground floor” of these newer technologies, dc powering
is likely to be included in any future interconnection and compatibility
standards development. This should help further its adoption, as well.
As recently as two years ago, replacing ac power with dc power was
an uphill battle. Some parts of the world, such as Japan, have less of
a problem with this, but ac power is still pretty entrenched. Darnell
did a report on this market in 2007 and found very few opportunities
for dc powering except in electric utility substations, railroad, emer-
gency back-up, co-location facilities and hybrid vehicles. But this is
obviously changing due, in part, to the receptivity of the “green build-
ing” concept. Most of the powering technologies have already been
proven in various environments, so it’s just been a matter of waiting
for the right moment to push them.
http://greenbuildingpower.darnell.com/
www.powerpulse.net
Infineon presents compact IGBT modules for industrial and traction
applications with its PrimePACKTM series. These low-inductance half-
bridge modules allow efficient high-power converters to be construct-
ed more simply than with single IGBT modules. The half-bridge con-
figuration and long, narrow design of the PrimePACK modules almost
invites their simple parallel connection in order to achieve powers in
the megawatt range.
Conventional drives
Parallel-connected IGBTs are conventionally driven by a common
driver, with individual gate and emitter resistors for each IGBT. How-
ever, modules of the PrimePACK power class require more extensive
circuitry: they cannot, for instance, dispense with active clamping [1],
which results in solutions such as that proposed in Figure 1.
As converter manufacturers are often obliged to offer systems of vari-
ous powers, this solution has two drawbacks: the driver circuit must
be individually optimised for each power class – which is a time-con-
suming process, and a wide diversity of types results.
New driver solution
An alternative approach to driving parallel-connected IGBT modules
is to use an individual driver for each module, as shown in Figure 2.
However, this attractively simple approach was hardly practical in the
past because the drivers previously available on the market had
excessive runtime differences and jitter, which would have led to an
asymmetrical distribution of the collector currents and losses in the
parallel-connected modules. Moreover, previous drivers also failed to
offer any scenario for the behaviour of parallel-connected drivers in
the event of a fault.
A solution is now available with the SCALE-2 driver chipset from
CONCEPT [2] [3]. With a runtime of just below 80ns, it is about five
times as fast as the preceding generation and 8 to 20 times faster
than typical competitor solutions. In addition, the small deviations in
the runtimes of the various drivers of <±4ns and the extremely low jit-
ter of <±2ns make it ideal for use in the parallel circuit. The low toler-
ance of these parameters ensures that the parallel-driven IGBTs
switch almost simultaneously.
A plug-and-play driver solution for PrimePACK modules was devel-
oped on the basis of the SCALE-2 chipset [4] [5]. The 2SP0320T2
family comprises complete and compact dual-IGBT drivers equipped
with DC/DC converters, short-circuit protection, advanced active
clamping and monitoring of supply under-voltages (see Figure 3).
20 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
C O V E R S T O R Y
Intelligent ParallelingA new approach to paralleling IGBT modules with individual drivers
A gate driver for PrimePACKTM IGBTs designed for high item numbers allows optimaldriving of single and parallel-connected modules. This makes it possible for the first time
to construct converter series with both single modules and parallel-connected IGBTspractically with no additional development effort. Despite the typically smaller item
numbers associated with increasing converter powers, users benefit from the performance, quality and reliability as well as the favourable manufacturing costs of this
driver optimised for large series.
By Heinz Rüedi and Olivier Garcia, CT-Concept Technologie AG, Switzerland
Figure 1: Principle of a central driver extended by active clamping
Figure 2: Principle of driving parallel-connected IGBTs with individual drivers
Symmetry in normal switching operation
The DC/DC converters contained in the drivers supply such accurate
output voltages that differences in the gate voltages produce hardly
any asymmetries relevant to the application. Moreover, investigations
also showed that the asymmetry of the collector currents also
remains at a similarly low level thanks to the runtime differences pos-
sible with this driver. On the whole, the redistribution of the IGBT cur-
rents due to the driver tolerances is practically negligible. On top of
that, asymmetries due to the mechanical configuration as well as
component tolerances will have a far greater influence in most real
equipment designs.
As every IGBT module has its own driver, the power of a single driver
does not need to be distributed over several IGBTs. So this concept
also allows high clock frequencies with parallel circuits.
In principle, this method can be used to drive any number of modules
in parallel. In the case of very massive parallel circuits – apart from a
symmetrical configuration – it is only necessary to control the distri-
bution of the diode currents. If required, this can be facilitated by
adding inductors to the phase feed lines of the individual modules.
Behaviour in the case of faults and short circuits
After considering normal switching behaviour, the question arises as
to how the system will behave in the case of abnormal operating con-
ditions.
The conditions during the build-up and drop of the voltage supply
present no problems, as every SCALE-2 chip – on both the primary
and secondary sides – contains its own under-voltage detection. The
gate-driver chips on the secondary side report the fault conditions
back to the primary-side chips via the transformers. The status mes-
sages are combined on the user side and show when all systems are
operational.
A short circuit is detected by the desaturation monitoring contained in
each driver within a typical time of 4.4μs. The SCALE-2 chipset in the
2SP0320T2 operates in a special mode, transmitting the fault within
450ns to the primary side even before the IGBT has been turned off
by the driver. The user controller then has enough time to generate a
turn-off command and turn all IGBTs off simultaneously. The behav-
iour of the entire system in this case is no different than if all the
IGBTs were driven by a central driver.
However, if no turn-off command is generated on the user side, each
driver automatically switches off its associated IGBT 3.6μs after
detecting a short circuit. But as this time is subject to tolerances and
the desaturation monitoring of each driver does not necessarily
detect the short circuit exactly at the same time, it can be assumed
that the individual IGBTs will not turn off exactly simultaneously.
Moreover, a case is conceivable which may be rare in statistical
terms but can nevertheless occur under certain circumstances: the
command to turn an IGBT off is transferred via the transformer inter-
face at exactly the same time as the driver chip reports a short circuit
that it has just detected. The collision of the signals and the priority of
the error feedback causes the corresponding channel not to detect
the turn-off command, while the other drivers initiate the turn-off
sequence. As a consequence, the corresponding IGBT turns off with
a delay.
In a test set-up shown in Figure 4, it was examined how parallel-con-
nected PrimePACK IGBT modules behave when they are turned off
simultaneously or with a time delay, both in a low inductance short
circuit and with short-circuit inductances up to 2μH.
Whereas we have already seen that the synchronous short-circuit
turn-off presents no problems as expected (see Figure 5), the behav-
iour of the system is also completely safe in the case of sequential
turn-off of the IGBTs after a short circuit, as can be seen in Figure 6.
After turn-off of the first IGBT, the second IGBT, which is still in the
short circuit, acts as a constant current source and cannot absorb
any additional current, so that only its collector-emitter voltage
increases somewhat.
The freewheeling diode of the first IGBT to be turned off must absorb
the full short-circuit current that had previously flowed through the
opposite IGBT in the same module. The freewheeling diode of the
IGBT that is turned-off later absorbs this current when it subsequently
commutates. The amplitudes of the turn-off overvoltages are some-
what lower than the corresponding overvoltage resulting from both
C O V E R S T O R Y
21www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
Figure 3: The 2SP0320T2 driver, suited for single and parallel connected modules
Figure 4: Test circuit for short-circuit measurements
IGBTs being turned off synchronously. This is understandable,
because at a given intermediate circuit inductance only a partial cur-
rent is momentarily commuted in the first case, while the entire cur-
rent is commuted at once in the other case.
Interface
In principle, all lines of the driver interface can be simply connected
in parallel if an individual fault detection is of no interest. If more
detailed error detection is required, then only two status signals per
driver have to be individually evaluated, while all the other lines can
be connected directly in parallel.
It’s highly recommended to use the same voltage supply for all driv-
ers, so that they all operate with identical gate voltages. Moreover, it
is advisable to run the connecting cables to all the drivers with identi-
cal lengths and to dispense with daisy-chain cabling. These two
measures ensure an optimal symmetry from the viewpoint of the driv-
ers. It is then only important to ensure that the power layout is as
symmetrical as possible.
Benefits and drawbacks
This solution has the following advantages:
• Both single and parallel-connected PrimePACK modules can be
driven
• Simplest scaling of output
• Uncompromising, safe and reliable concept
• No limit to the number of parallel-connected IGBTs
• Optimal switching behaviour, lowest switching losses
• High clock frequencies also for parallel circuits
• Detailed diagnosis as required: one status per driver / IGBT
• No coupling of the gates, thus no mutual oscillations of the IGBTs
possible
• No effects of the capacitive equalising currents flowing away via
the module baseplate
• No effects of inductive coupling on the gate cabling
• No complex synchronisation needed
• Equipment series can be simply extended to parallel connection,
also subsequently
• No development effort, no adaptation work
• Simple to set up, no tangle of cables
• Minimal derating and maximum utilisation of the IGBT modules
• Use of optimised large-series system components
• Simple logistics, one driver for the entire converter series
At first sight, it might seem a disadvantage to have several chipsets
and transformers (a set for each IGBT module), whereas the conven-
tional approach with a central driver needs only one set. However,
this apparent disadvantage is very quickly relativized in view of the
fact that these components are also highly optimised in terms of
costs. If a central driver has to drive several IGBTs, then its trans-
former, the output stage and the blocking capacitors etc. will need to
have correspondingly higher ratings. The outlay for active clamping is
in any case the same for both solutions, whereas the 2SP0320T2
approach can manage with fewer components (gate and emitter
resistors, supply decoupling etc.). Moreover, the new solution dis-
penses with the various circuit boards, connectors and cables of a
conventional solution, which carry a high voltage and must be care-
fully configured to prevent the occurrence of major asymmetries.
Conclusion and outlook
The new solution for parallel-connected IGBTs with individual drivers
promises much: even after careful observation, its numerous obvious
benefits are not countered by a single serious drawback. From the
driving aspect, the concept does not limit the number of parallel-con-
nected IGBT modules.
The parallel-connection concept will also be transferrable to 3.3kV
IGBTs as soon as these are available as PrimePACK modules. This
will mean that complex converter designs and expensive driving solu-
tions will soon belong to the past in this voltage class too.
As this solution can also be applied to all (future) transformer-based
SCALE-2 driver cores, use of the concept described here is not
restricted to PrimePACK modules but may be transferred to all other
half-bridge IGBT modules.
References
[1] H. Rüedi, P. Köhli, “SCALE Driver for High Voltage IGBTs” PCIM Europe
Conference 1999
[2] J. Thalheim, “Universal Chipset for IGBT and Power-MOSFET Gate Dri-
vers”, PCIM Europe Conference 2007
[3] J. Thalheim, “Smart Power Chip Tuning”, Bodo’s Power Magazine 2007
[4] S. Pawel, J. Thalheim, “Prime(PACK) Time for SCALE-2”, Bodo’s Power
Magazine 2008
[5] J. Thalheim, O. Garcia, “Optimised Utilisation of IGBTs by Plug-and-Play
Drivers”, Power Electronics Europe 2008
To access this papers, enter www.IGBT-Driver.com/go/papers
PrimePACK is a trademark of Infineon Technologies AG, Munich
www.IGBT-Driver.com
C O V E R S T O R Y
22 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Figure 5: Synchronous turn-off of parallel-connected IGBTs in low-inductance short circuit
Figure 6: Sequential turn-off of parallel-connected IGBTs with 2μH short circuit inductance
Since their introduction in 1996, the Integrated Gate Commutated
Thyristor (IGCT) has gained market importance as a semiconductor
switch characterized by low on-state, fast switching capability, and
the possibility to fit a single device with a current capability of thou-
sands of Amperes. The IGCT has a thyristor structure and therefore
generates low conduction losses. The device is very compact, having
the gate drive unit incorporated to minimize the gate inductance in
the circuit connecting gate and cathode (Figure 1). This allows the
IGCT to be “hard driven”, meaning that very high di/dt’s (thousands of
amps/us) can be used during the fast turn-off process. Due to all
these advantages, IGCTs have become a top choice today in numer-
ous applications such as converters (industrial medium-voltage drives
or MVDs), as well as railway interties and other energy management
systems (typically above 2MW). At the same time, the high ratio
between the active silicon area and the junction termination area has
practically made the IGCTs a very attractive choice in high voltage
applications (above 6.5 kV).
Generally MVDs today are offered in phase-to-phase voltage classes
of 2.3, 3.3, and 4.16 kV. IGCTs are normally used in two or three
level topologies as one device per function. Topologies involving
series connection of IGCTs for higher voltages have also been report-
ed, however voltage sharing limitations prevent such applications
from gaining significant importance.
IGCTs are available in current and voltage ratings starting at 4500V
and a few hundred amps to 6500V and 4000A. An IGCT with a block-
ing capability of at least 10kV or a series connection of two 4.5- and
5.5-kV IGCTs, respectively have to be applied per switch position of a
three-level neutral-point-clamp voltage-source converter in order to
increase the converter voltage to the phase-to-phase RMS voltage of
6.0–7.2 kV. The development of turn-off devices operating at 7kV DC
is thus of paramount interest because it enables a three-level con-
verter topology for up to 7.2 kV RMS, covering a large part of
installed industrial drives, without requiring series connection of
power semiconductors. This introduces significant advantages for the
manufacturer as well as for the customer through less snubbering
effort leading to fewer components, lower costs, and subsequently
increased system reliability. [1]
The 7kV DC rating requires blocking capability beyond 9 kV. The cur-
rent development builds on previously demonstrated High Power
Technology (HPT) with a corrugated p-base design that has been
shown to facilitate further SOA expansion of the IGCT, scaling the
voltage rating to 11kV [2]. The conception of an IGCT circuit with
7.2kV output requires freewheeling and clamp diodes of similar volt-
age rating. Diode loss-to-snappiness trade-off is of critical impor-
tance. This was addressed through the use of the Field Charge
Extraction (FCE) concept. [3] Simulations are used to demonstrate
the effectiveness of the proposed diode design against diode snap-
off. Furthermore, minute attention has been given to the resilience
against cosmic ray events and its implications on device design.
Requirements for 10kV IGCT chip set
The IGCT and diode for 7.2kV RMS VSI applications were designed
to switch under a DC voltage of typically 6 kV, maximally 7 kV. Of
critical importance were also the cosmic ray withstand capability of
100 FIT and the long-term dc stability at the nominal dc voltage of
VDC = 5.9 kV. In order to safely block the dynamic overvoltage in the
converter, the maximum repetitive forward blocking voltage VDRM
was set to be higher than 9kV. Other critical requirements include: a
maximum junction temperature of Tj = 125 °C; small leakage currents
at the blocking voltages VDC NOM, and VDRM; a wide SOA; as well as
on-state and switching losses according to the calculated on-state
voltage drop vs turn-off losses trade-off. In addition a diode with soft-
turn off recovery at low currents and high voltage is required for opti-
mal converter performance.
H I G H P O W E R S W I T C H
24 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
High Voltage Semiconductor Switches
Introducing the 10 kV IGCT chip set for 7.2 kV (RMS) VSI application
To allow more simplicity and cost reduction in the design of modern power electronic systems, significant efforts are made to continuously increase the voltage and current
capabilities of high power semiconductors. In this article, the improved Safe OperatingArea (SOA) of a new IGCT chip set based on ABB’s High Power Technology (HPT)
platform with a rated voltage of 10kV is presented. A matching 10kV freewheeling diodeis also reported. Combined, these developments open the door to new applications of
silicon IGCTs reaching voltage levels of 7.2kV RMS or more.
By Iulian Nistor, Tobias Wikström, Maxi Scheinert, ABB Switzerland Ltd,
Figure 1: ABB GCT power semiconductor with integrated gate drive.
10 kV IGCT Electrical Characteristics
The IGCT wafer consists of a large number
of thyristor segments (approx. 2700 for a
91mm wafer) connected in parallel. Each
segment is surrounded by the gate metal-
lization. During the turn-off process, the
anode current is taken over by the gate
interrupting the regenerative pnp-npn thyris-
tor action. Three different designs have been
used to manufacture the 10kV IGCTs. The
“standard” planar p-base junction design had
an active area of approximately 20 cm2. The
same wafer size was used for devices with a
fortified p-base, i.e. with a deeper and more
heavily doped p-base. The larger IGCTs
(approx. 40 cm2) were all fabricated with a
fortified HPT design.
In addition to the active area, the junction
termination is critical to ensure good voltage
blocking capability. This is accomplished
through the use of a negative bevel. We
have optimized this bevel for a blocking volt-
age above 10kV by decoupling the depth of
the p-base from the voltage capability of the
edge.
The measured forward-blocking characteris-
tic of a Ø91-mm IGCT is depicted in Figure
2. The devices avalanched at 125 °C at
about 11.2 kV. For all devices, the leakage
current IDR was smaller than 15 mA at a
device voltage of VAK = 7 kV and a junction
temperature of Tj = 125 °C.
The use of the HPT concept was recently
demonstrated to enhance the SOA capability
of 4.5kV, 5.5kV and 6.5kV HPT IGCT
devices [2]. To follow up on those promising
developments, the HPT design was included
in our moderate junction depth design for a
10kV IGCT. To understand the effect on SOA
we have compared a standard Ø68 mm
IGCT with Ø91 mm IGCT with an HPT
design having a similar p-base depth and
voltage rating. The active area of the Ø91
mm device is twice as large as the Ø68 mm
device, however for standard devices the
maximum turn-off current does not scale lin-
early with the device area. This is caused by
the difficulty to distribute the gate signal uni-
formly across the wafer area. The current is
redistributed to segments in gate-remote
locations during turn-off. Under these condi-
25www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
H I G H P O W E R S W I T C H
Figure 2: Forward blocking characteristics ofmanufactured 10kV HPT IGCTs at 125°C.
Figure 3: The circuit used for measuring thedynamic performance of IGCTs. Parameters:Li=12μH, Lσ=350nH, CCL=3μF, RS=2 Ω,CSn=3μF. The dotted branch represents theRC-snubber for turn-on measurements.
- 61
83 -
02-
2009
26 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
tions, the device can ultimately fail either by
violation of the hard-drive criterion, or by
locally exceeding the maximum permissible
power density.
The controllable current for the standard
Ø68mm device was 300 A at a DC-link volt-
age of 6kV at 25°C. This corresponds to a
peak power of 96.2 kW/cm2 of active GCT
area. The device failed at 400A and 6kV.
Based on the above discussion, the SOA of
a standard Ø91 mm IGCT would then be
limited to less than 800 A at 6kV.
Using lifetime-control techniques, the on-
state of the new 10kV IGCTs was tuned to a
value between 4 and 6 V at a nominal cur-
rent of 1700A. Afterwards, the switching
behavior of the IGCT was investigated in a
buck test circuit in single-shot operation (Fig-
ure 3). The SOA turn-off waveforms of the
IGCT at VDC=6kV (anticipated nominal volt-
age) are shown in Figure 4. The IGCTs with
a fortified HPT design turned-off safely more
than 2000A at 6kV, equivalent to a peak
power density of 300 kW/cm2 of active IGCT
area. This represents a significant increase
in peak power handling capability of 10kV
HPT devices compared to standard lower
voltage IGCT (200-300kW/cm2 for currently
existing standard large area IGCTs up to
6.5kV). However, the power density has
decreased from the value of 600kW/cm2
reported in [2] due to the increased voltage
ratings (from 6.5kV to 10kV). The fortification
of the p-base is not unlimited. A deeper and
more heavily doped p-base will inevitably
slow down the thyristor turn-on as shown in
Figure 5.
10 kV Diode electrical characteristics
Manufacturing a robust diode for applica-
tions at 7kV DC voltage is a challenging task
due to the trade-off between diode losses
and hardness against cosmic rays. To reach
a low cosmic ray failure rate a design based
on a low n-base doping and thick wafers is
recommended. On the other hand, to mini-
mize the on-state losses, a design based on
high n-base doping and thin wafers is pre-
ferred. This trade-off means that for high
voltage designs, the diodes will have a snap-
py recovery process by having a punch
through voltage that is much lower than the
DC-link voltage.
Figure 6 shows the SOA waveforms for the
reverse recovery of a 10kV diode at a DC
link voltage of 6kV. The diode can handle
more than 2000A at a DC link voltage of 6kV
at 125°C. This SOA matches the improved
SOA obtained for the 10kV IGCT. However,
snap off of the diode during the reverse
recovery phase remains an issue with stan-
dard high power diode designs. As this
behavior is not desirable in an industrial
application, while low losses are of highest
importance, two concepts for reducing the
snappiness of the diode are currently consid-
ered. In simulations, a 10kV diode with FCE
design shows snap-free recovery even
under hard switching conditions, i.e. low
temperature, high DC link voltage and low
on-state currents (Figure 7). The work to
manufacture 10kV diodes with these
improved designs is currently carried out on
silicon.
With an excellent blocking capability of more
than 11kV, and significantly enhanced SOA
capability over standard designs, the 10kV
IGCT represents the next step towards the
next generation of high power semiconduc-
tor switches. Together with the development
of a high voltage soft switching diode, future
high power electronic applications will con-
tinue to fully benefit from the versatility of the
IGCT technology.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank M. Rahimo,
J. Vobecky, A. Kopta, E. Nanser, and M.
Kunow from ABB Switzerland Ltd, Semicon-
ductors, for their essential contributions to
this work.
References
[1] S. Bernet, E. Carroll, P. Streit, O. Apel-
doorn, P. Steimer, and S. Tschirley, “Design,
test and characteristics of 10kV IGCTs”,
Industry Applications Society, 38th IAS Annu-
al General Meeting, October 12-16, 2003, p.
1012.
[2] T. Wikström, T. Stiasny, M. Rahimo, D.
Cottet, and P. Streit, “The corrugated p-base
- A new benchmark for large area SOA scal-
ing”, in Proc. ISPSD 2007, Jeju, Korea, p.
29.
[3] A. Kopta, and M. Rahimo, “The Field
Charge Extraction (FCE) Diode – A novel
technology for soft recovery high voltage
diodes”, in Proc. ISPSD 2005, Santa Bar-
bara, California, USA, p. 83.
www.abb.com/semiconductors
Figure 6: SOA reverse recovery waveformsfor large-area (91mm) 10kV diode at 115°C,VDC=6kV. The peak power was 9MW andthe reverse recovery losses were 25 J.
Figure 7: Device level simulations showingreduced diode snap-off effect by using theFCE design. (ION-STATE= 50A).
H I G H P O W E R S W I T C H
Figure 4: The SOA waveforms for large-area(91mm) 10kV HPT IGCT at 130°C,VDC=6kV. The device was able to handle apeak power of 12MW and the turn-off ener-gy was 32 J.
Figure 5: Turn-on waveforms of the different10kV IGCT designs: The fortified HPTdesign shows no dangerous overvoltagesmeaning that the thyristor turn-on process is-homogeneous.
13th European Conferenceon Power Electronics
and Applications
Receipt of synopses:Monday 3 November 2008
Receipt of full papers:Monday 11 May 2009
EPE 2009 Barcelona, Spain
www.epe2009.com
28 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Protecting PoE Equipment from Overvoltage and Overcurrent Damage
Thyristor surge suppression devices meet the immunity and test requirements of IEEE 802.3AF standard
The evolution of Power over Ethernet (PoE) continues to expand the functionality of Ethernet technology by supplying reliable DC power over the same cables that currently
carry Ethernet data. PoE, which is modeled after the technology used by the telecommunications industry, enables lifeline quality power for IP telephones (VoIP) aswell as many other low power Ethernet network devices, such as wireless access points
(WAP) and IP security cameras.
By Matt Williams, Applications Engineering Manager and Theresa Lagos, Overvoltage Product Manager,
Tyco Electronics´ Raychem TM Circuit Protection ProductsThe IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.3af
standard addresses the requirement for interoperability among a
growing number of proprietary methods of distributing DC power to
network devices. It has facilitated the development of technology that
allows a broad range of devices to supply or draw power over the
network without modification to existing infrastructure and provides
these advantages:
• Eliminates the need to run A/C power wires and permits use of
existing IT infrastructure;
• Permits the most efficient and convenient installation, regardless of
where AC outlets are located;
• Allows for the use of a centralized UPS to provide power to the
appliance even during mains power failure;
• Improves safety by eliminating presence of mains voltage; and
• Permits remote monitoring and control of devices on the network
PoE-enabled devices and their electronic components are designed
for operation within specified current and voltage ratings. If these rat-
ings are exceeded, due to short circuit or voltage transients, compo-
nents may sustain permanent damage and the equipment may fail.
Overcurrent and overvoltage protection devices are used to help pro-
tect both Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) and Powered Device
(PD) equipment.
Power Sourcing Options
The IEEE 802.3af standard defines two types of power source equip-
ment: end-span and mid-span. An end-span PSE integrates the
power sourcing functionality with a network switch. End-spans look
and function the same as any Ethernet switch, except they can deliv-
er data and power over the same wiring pairs. Since Ethernet data
pairs use transformers coupled at each end of the link, DC power can
easily be added to the center tap of the transformer without disrupt-
ing the data. In this mode of operation, an end-span injects both
power and data on pin-pairs 3 and 6 and pin-pairs 1 and 2.
Mid-span PSE devices resemble patch panels and typically have
between six and 24 channels. They are placed between older legacy
switches and the powered devices. Each of the mid-span ports has
an RJ-45 data input and data/power RJ-45 output connector. Mid-
span devices tap pin-pairs 4 and 5 and pin-pairs 7 and 8 to carry
power, while data runs on the other wire pairs. It is important to note
that although the PSE can only use pin-pairs assigned from an end-
span or a mid-span, the PD must be able to accept power from both.
Power Requirements
The 802.3af standard defines power requirements up to 15 watts.
Typically defined at ~330mA@48V, Ethernet ports may supply a
nominal 48V DC power on the data wire pairs or on the "spare" wire
pairs, but not both, and the PSE must never send power to a device
that does not expect it.
For higher power requirements, IEEE802.3af sets the output voltage
for PSE devices to 50V to 57V. This voltage range is an increase
from the 44V to 57V specified in the IEEE802.3af standard. The PD
P R O T E C T I O N
Figure 1. Power sourcing options per IEEE 802.3af standard
www.bodospower.com
voltage will remain the same as the IEEE802.3af standard at 36V
to 57V.
Improving Safety and Reliability of PoE Equipment
A growing number of PoE applications – ranging from smart signs,
vending machines, building access control and time and atten-
dance systems to phone and PDA chargers and electronic musical
instruments – has created a demand for more reliable and flexible
overcurrent and overvoltage protection devices. These devices are
required in order to:
• Protect the PSE from damage caused by shorts in the Ethernet
cable or PD;
• Protect the PD from faults in the PSE; and
• Protect both the PSE and PD from overvoltage shorts/transients.
Single-use fuses are often used to help provide overcurrent protec-
tion in PoE applications. Polymeric positive temperature coefficient
(PPTC) devices, installed in series with electronic components, also
provide a reliable, resettable method of interrupting current flow.
Solid-state thyristor overvoltage protection devices may also be
installed in parallel with these components to switch rapidly from a
high to a low impedance state in response to an overvoltage surge.
Overcurrent Protection Options
PPTC devices are commonly used to help provide overcurrent pro-
tection on both PSE and PD equipment. The resettable functionality
of the device allows for placement in inaccessible locations, and a
wide range of electrical and physical sizes facilitates precise design
solutions.
Although the fuse is generally considered one of the simplest and
lowest-cost solutions, many equipment manufacturers find it easy
to justify the cost of resettable PPTC device protection if it helps
protect against overcurrent damage caused by electrical short,
overloaded circuit, or customer misuse. PPTC devices do not gen-
erally require replacement after a fault event. And they allow the cir-
Table 1. IEEE 802.3af PSE and PD Power Classifications
Figure 2. Typical circuit diagram using a SiBarTM thyristor for over-voltage protection with a PolySwitchTM device, or optionally, a sur-face - mount slow blow fuse for overcurrent protection.
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cuit to return to the normal operating condition after the power has
been removed and the overcurrent condition is eliminated.
In applications where resettable functionality is not desired, high-cur-
rent, Surface-mount fuses that provide clean-blow characteristics and
physically contain the fusing event within the package can be used to
meet the overcurrent protection requirements of the IEEE 802.3af
standard. It is important to note that single-use fuses must be tolerant
of the current spikes and fluctuations associated with PoE applica-
tions.
Figure 2 illustrates how either the PolySwitch™ decaSMD device or
the Tyco Electronics slow blow chip fuse can be used to help protect
PoE equipment from overcurrent damage.
Overvoltage Protection Considerations
A variety of methods can be used to help protect PoE-enabled equip-
ment from damage caused by overvoltage events, such as switching
or lightning transients. There are two major categories of overvoltage
protection devices – clamping devices and foldback, or “crowbar,”
devices. Clamping devices, such as metal oxide varistors (MOVs)
and diodes, allow voltages up to a specified clamping level to pass
through to the load during operation. Foldback devices, such as gas
discharge tubes and thyristor surge suppressors, operate as shunt
devices in response to a surge that exceeds the breakover voltage.
Foldback devices have an advantage over clamping devices because
in the foldback state very little voltage appears across the load while
it conducts harmful surges away from the load; whereas clamping
devices remain at the clamping voltage. Therefore, the power dissi-
pated in the foldback device is much lower than in a clamping device.
For many PoE applications, the thyristor surge suppressor is the pre-
ferred solution. The results of recent testing by Tyco Electronics com-
paring the behavior of a TVS diode with that of a SiBar™ thyristor
are shown in Figure 3a and 3b. The SiBar thyristor “folds back” the
overvoltage transient to a lower voltage level than the TVS diode and
has lower peak and average voltage let-through values than the TVS
diode – resulting in less overvoltage and power stresses passed
through to the PoE equipment.
Additionally, the thyristor’s low on-state voltage allows for smaller
form factor devices – as compared with a TVS diode of comparable
energy handling-capability – conserving valuable PC board real
estate. The relatively low capacitance of the thyristor also allows its
use on high data-rate- circuits.
Summary
The low resistance, fast time-to-trip, low profile, and resettable func-
tionality of PPTC devices helps circuit designers provide a safe and
dependable product and comply with regulatory agency require-
ments. In applications where resettable functionality is not desired,
Surface-mount fuses with slow-blow characteristics can help manu-
facturers meet the overcurrent protection requirements of the IEEE
802.3AF standard.
Thyristor surge suppression devices help meet the immunity and test
requirements for PoE equipment, providing lower peak and average
voltage let-through values during an overvoltage transient, and their
low on-state voltage allows for smaller form factor devices – as com-
pared with clamping devices of comparable energy-handling capabili-
ty. The relatively low capacitance of thyristors also makes them use-
ful in high data rate circuits.
For more information, please contact Matt Williams at
www.circuitprotection.com
Device Pk (I) Pk (V) Avg (I) Avg (V)
TVS Diode 23.4 124.8 4.37 74.19
SiBar TVB058SA-L 23.8 89.6 5.41 25.33
P R O T E C T I O N
30 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Figure 3a. Performance of TVS diode.
Figure 3b. Performance SiBar thyristor.
31www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
The first example demonstrates how to con-
nect solar panel strings with different power
and intensity conditions on a solar inverter
environment.
High Efficiency with low Effort
The figure 1 shows a circuit, which is able to
adjust the MPP (maximum power point) of
the solar panel, to correct the asymmetry of
the input while keeping the symmetry of the
NP (neutral point) of the booster output. The
circuit comprises 2 boost circuits: a positive
and a negative one. The symmetry will be
achieved with a corrected PWM (pulse with
modulation) of the boost circuits.
In the example in Figure 2 there is a very
high non-symmetry in the input (10kO vs.
100kO) and at the output 40O vs. 60O load
simulated.
The result shows that it is possible to cover
such conditions with such a simple boost cir-
cuit by only using the right PWM signal gen-
erating the exact software algorithm needed.
For the control the following signals are
required: Input voltage (for the MPP track-
ing) and the positive and the negative DC-
output voltages to be
adjusted for symmetrical
values.
Multiple Input as a New
Option
However, it is not only pos-
sible to control a non-sym-
metrical solar panel and
load condition, but also to
combine panels with differ-
ent powers and MPP char-
acteristics within the boost-
ers.
The solution in Figure 3
explains a solution for the
connection of 2 “low volt-
age” solar strings and a
“high voltage” string to a 3-
phase NPC solar inverter.
The input stages are
designed based on 2 Vin-
cotech P915 power mod-
ules and the output is built
up with 3 Vincotech P965 mixed component
3-level power modules.
This is an example for using two lower volt-
ages (125-500V) and a higher voltage (250-
1000V) PVs with independent MPP tracking
in a 3 phase output system (ca.24kW). By
eliminating the optional GND connection to
the LV1, LV2 allows independent MPP track-
ing for LV1 and LV2.
www.vincotech.com
S O L A R P O W E R
Symmetrical Boost Concept forSolar Applications up to 1000V
Multiple input as a new option
In a transformerless solar inverter application the symmetry of split supply DC voltageswith ground is an important issue. The following concept shows the handling of both the
input and the output asymmetry in an MPP booster circuit.
By Michael Frisch, Vincotech GmbH, Biberger Str. 93, 82008 Unterhaching (Germany)and
Temesi Ernö, Vincotech Kft., Kossuth Lajos u. 59, H-2060 Bicske (Hungary)
Figure1:
Figure 2:
Figure 3:
32
It is becoming more common for the system to operate off the charg-
er without a battery. This may occur during a normal application or
during a manufacturer’s test. In Figure 1, there is no battery source
to power the system during any transients or power-up conditions. If
not designed properly, the charger can get latched in a short-circuit
condition. To resolve these design issues, it is essential to under-
stand the chargers’ output source specifications and input system
load requirements.
Operational Issues without a Battery
A Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) charger is considered a current source that is
clamped at a regulation voltage. Typically, the device has a battery
pack attached and acts as an energy reservoir (large capacitor) to
keep the system powered through transients. If the system load
exceeds the source current for a short period of time, the battery will
supplement the additional current. When a battery is not present, the
system voltage drops quickly, if the system load current exceeds the
charger’s source current. To complicate matters, the charger is a
three-stage current source, short circuit, pre-charge and fast-charge.
Exceeding the available current causes the system voltage to drop
and possibly cause the charger to enter pre-charge and then short-
circuit where less current is available. On the contrary, if the load cur-
rent is less than the charger current the system voltage rises until
4.2V regulation is reached. Then the charge current drops to equal
the load current.
To operate without a battery, the charger and system must be
designed such that the charger can always deliver the required cur-
rent to the system. To determine this, the charger’s IV characteristic
must be compared to the system load IV characteristic.
Output Characteristics of the Charger
We’ll be discussing a Li-Ion charger as it has several charge phases,
and the concepts discussed can be easily applied to other charger
chemistries. Figure 2 shows the charger’s current profile as it relates
to the charger’s output voltage, VSYS. Initially the voltage is at 0V, if
the battery is not present and the charger has not been powered.
When power is applied to the charger, the charger’s output voltage
starts to rise due to an internal pull-up (~500 Ohms) between the
input and output. The short circuit mode is below one volt and
designed to minimize power dissipation during a short on the OUT
pin.
Once above the short circuit threshold (0.8 to 1.4V), the charger
enters pre-charge mode. Pre-charge recovers a deeply discharged
battery or determines if the pack is damaged, and if so terminates
charge. The pre-charge current is approximately one-tenth the fast
charge current, but some chargers can program this level independ-
ently. The pre-charge mode transitions into the fast-charge constant
current at ~3V, where the programmed fast charge constant current
is supplied. At no time will the charger deliver more than this pro-
grammed current level. When the voltage reaches the constant volt-
age mode at 4.2V, the output is regulated and capable of providing
up to the programmed current level. If the load current drops to the
termination threshold, the charge is terminated unless termination is
disabled.
Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
B A T T E R Y M A N A G E M E N T
Understanding System Loadsand Interfacing with Chargers
System power must not exceed charger power without energy storage
Battery charging is a fairly simple concept when considering only a standalone chargerfor a given input voltage, charge level and pack size. However, charging is often done witha system load, which can complicate charging. This article highlights the potential start-up and operating issues with a battery charger powering a system load without a battery,
and how the charger output characteristics react with the system input characteristics.
By Charles Mauney, Senior Battery Charger Applications Engineer, Texas Instruments
Figure 1: Block diagram of charger power source and system loads.
Figure 2: Li-Ion charge profile – Charge current and voltage outputs.
The current sourced in each of these phases is shown in Table 1.
Now that it is understood how much current is available from the
charger, an analysis of the system load is needed to confirm if the
design is compatible with operation without a battery.
System Load Characteristics
A resistive load sinks current, which is proportional to the voltage
applied and may be present during power-up. Resistances lower than
125 Ohms (ISINK = 1V/125 Ohms = 8mA) may prevent the charger
from exiting short circuit mode on power-up without a battery.
Typically, a DC/DC buck converter is not enabled until its input volt-
age is near its regulated output voltage. Since the converter’s output
voltage is fixed, its load is often constant, so its input current is
inversely proportional to its voltage. Two of the curves in Figure 3A
show input current into a 1.8V and 3.3V DC/DC converter versus
input voltage. You can see that as the voltage increases the current
decreases and visa-versa.
Typically, capacitive loads are not an issue on the input side of the
converter and slow down the power-up, unless a timed event expires
causing a reset or further loading. Capacitive loads on the output of
the converter may cause peak power demands when powering up
and can be reduced, if the converter has a soft-start feature.
B A T T E R Y M A N A G E M E N T
Figure 3A: DC/DC converter input current versus input voltage:Power-up sequence with issues
Table 1. Charging modes and available current and power.
Charger ModeTypical Voltage
Range
Available
Current
Equivalent
Power
Short Circuit
Mode0 to 1.0 V
500 ohms
or~8mA8 mW
Pre-Charge
Mode1 to 3 V 100 mA 100 to 300 mW
Fast-Charge
Mode3 to 4.2 V 1000 mA 3 to 4.2 W
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Pulsed loads add to the other static loads and may happen at any
time, so special attention should be paid to make sure peak loading
does not exceed the available charger source current when operating
without a battery.
Comparing Source Current to the System Load Current
There are two types of comparisons that should be considered: a
static DC comparison and a real-time power-up and operational com-
parison. The DC comparison simply compares the system load cur-
rent to the available charger’s source current at any given system
voltage. Figure 3 shows the total load current and the available
charger current as the system voltage changes. Initially on power-up,
the resistive load currents are close to the available charger’s short
circuit current. Therefore, the designer may want to ensure the output
voltage can charge up to the pre-charge region. In pre-charge, when
the 1.8V converter enables at 1.6V, the total current slightly exceeds
the pre-charge current. A solution is to enable the converter at VSYS
= 1.8V, where the load current is reduced as shown in Figure 3B.
Similarly, the 3.3V converter is enabled at 2.8V. Delaying the turn on
until VSYS has reached 3.1V will move the loading into the fast-
charge region and prevent a loading issue. Now that the static issues
have been analyzed, it would be good to follow with an operational
test.
The real-time operational comparison helps to understand the load
transients timing and to make sure the peak loads do not exceed the
available source current. A simple test can be implemented by con-
necting the system load to a lab supply. Insert a 100m Ohm resistor
in the return and set the supply voltage to 4.2V. Connect the scope
probes as shown in Figure 4, to capture the voltage and current. Set
the scope for a single sequence trigger on the voltage waveform and
power on the lab supply. This test can be repeated with a hot plug-in.
A continuous operational test may be done by triggering off of the
current (set just below the charger’s programmed current threshold),
while running the system through the system’s different operational
modes. This should be done over the complete VSYS operation
range of the system. If the scope is triggered, examine the current
pulse and determine if the load is excessive.
System: Operational, Cycling On/Off or Latched-Off (Crashed)
The desired mode of operation when the battery is absent, is where
the available charger current is always more than the system load
current, thus stable operation occurs. In this mode the system capac-
itance charges up to the regulation voltage and the fast charge cur-
rent tapers to equal the system load current. The system remains in
this steady state mode as long as the system current is less than the
programmed fast charge current. The cycling or latched state is
entered if the load current exceeds the available charge current,
since the DC/DC converters demand higher current at lower system
voltages. If the system voltage drops such that the converter is dis-
abled, then the system voltage recovers until the next over-current
load. This cycling mode is commonly known as hick-up mode.
Design Hints for Operating or Testing without a Battery
Construct a table similar to Table 1 or plot a charger current curve as
in Figure 3 to define the system’s absolute maximum load boundary.
Operate the system in all modes of operation over the system volt-
age range and define what systems can be enabled and when to
stay below the maximum load boundary. The best solution is to
enable the system, only after the charger is in fast-charge. Never
have a load greater than the minimum-fast charge power available
(for example, Fast-Charge Mode in Table 1 with 3 Watts). Since the
charger output power and the system load power are both a function
of VSYS, one can compare the power or the current to come to the
same conclusion.
PCHGR-OUT = PDC/DC-IN
ICHGR-OUT*VSYS = IDC/DC-IN*VSYS
ICHGR-OUT = IDC/DC-IN.
Therefore, the designer should keep the system power demand
below the minimum charger power output or keep the peak system
current demand below the programmed charger output current to
guarantee continuous system operation.
Summary
Powering an electronic product with an adaptor and a battery is fairly
simple since the battery always can be used as a back-up for any
peak loads that may appear. The only concern is that the average
charger current is larger than the average load current so the battery
is not discharged. If operation is desired without a battery, then pay
particular attention to the load currents not exceeding the charger
source current. Otherwise, the system voltage will likely crash and
get stuck in a low-power current limited state. Often short circuit and
pre-charge modes are where issues occur. Avoiding full operation in
these modes will solve most issues.
www.power.ti.com
34 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
B A T T E R Y M A N A G E M E N T
Figure 4: Setup to capture real time operational currents vs voltagewaveforms
Figure 3B: DC/DC converter input current versus input voltage:Power-up sequence corrected
Most TRIAC based dimmers are intended to connect directly to the
220V or 110V AC mains. Figure 1 shows the basic (simplified) circuit
and associated waveforms of a TRIAC dimmer. The mains voltage is
divided down by R1 and R2 and C1 is charged up. At some point, the
voltage of C1 reaches the trigger voltage of the diac which then
becomes conductive. The charge from C1 is dumped on the gate of
the TRIAC which starts conducting. This then connects the mains AC
signal to the load (typically a light bulb).
The diac will remain conductive until the current flowing through it
reaches a level close to zero. Effectively this means that the TRIAC
remains conductive until the input mains AC voltage reaches zero.
Since the input mains AC voltage is a repetitive sinusoid waveform,
the net effect of the dimming circuit is that the load (light bulb) is
exposed to the mains AC voltage for only a certain percentage of the
waveform period. Less exposure of the voltage over the load, means
less power dissipation inside the load (integrated over time), hence
the dimming effect. Figure 1 shows the basic waveforms. The top
one shows the mains AC signal coming in and the bottom one shows
the actual signal presented to the load. The delay time from the start
of the period to the TRIAC turning conductive is determined mostly
by R1, R2 and C1.
A TRIAC based dimming circuit is simple, low cost and achieves the
desired effect elegantly (you determine turn on time, but turn off is
automatic). This circuit is by far the most popular for dimming light-
ing.
In order for TRIAC based dimmers to operate properly, they require
the load to be resistive in nature. Since traditional lighting has pre-
dominantly been light bulb based, this has never posed a problem.
With the introduction of fluorescent based lighting, other (more com-
plex) types of dimming circuits were developed. However, the bulk of
lighting continued to be light bulb based and TRIAC dimmers
remained prevalent in the market.
Now we are on the verge of widespread introduction of new more
energy efficient lighting solutions, many of them LED based. TRIAC
based dimmers will not work with LED based lighting. Nevertheless,
it is desirable to find ways to make TRIAC based dimmers work with
LED lighting. Not only because there are a lot of installed TRIAC
based dimmers, but also because suppliers of lighting systems want
to offer complete solutions with all possible options, including dim-
ming capability. Naturally it is preferable to use standard, low cost
and off-the-shelf building blocks. A TRIAC based dimmer is just that.
LEDs are mostly dimmed by either changing the current, or by turn-
ing them on and off quickly using a constant current (PWM dimming).
So in order to hook up a standard TRIAC dimmer to LED based light-
ing modules, to translate the trigger point (or delay) into either a DC
current or a PWM dimming signal. As trivial as this may sound, this
is not simple to do. Using the inherent frequency of the AC signal
coming from the TRIAC is not an option. Depending on the line fre-
quency (50Hz or 60Hz) this will be either 100Hz or 120Hz. A light
bulb responds only slowly to any change in power being dissipated in
it and will inherently eliminate any flickering effect. But, switching any
LED on and off at those frequencies will yield visible flickering effects.
LEDs simply react a lot faster.
In order to hook up a standard TRIAC dimmer to LED based lighting
modules, we need to translate the trigger point (or delay) into either
a DC current or a high frequency PWM dimming signal. National
Semiconductor has now introduced a new LED driver IC, the
LM3445. This part integrates most of the functions needed to trans-
late a TRIAC dimmer trigger point into an average current running
L I G H T I N G
36 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Want To Dim Your LEDs with a TRIAC Dimmer?
LEDs simply react a lot faster than conventional bulbs
Light dimmers for common bulb based lighting have been around for ages. The most common implementation of such a dimming circuit is based around a TRIAC
(TRIode for Alternating Current).
By Ernest Bron, Field Applications Engineer, National Semiconductor Europe
Figure 1: Basic circuit and the associated waveforms
through a number of LEDs. Figure 2 will be used to illustrate how the
device achieves this. In figure 2 we see an example circuit diagram
of the LM3445 being used to control and dim LEDs.
On the top left side we see the entry point for the main AC input. This
AC power input is first rectified using a diode bridge (BR1). The recti-
fied signal is translated to a lower voltage level signal by means of
R2, D1, Q1 and is fed to the BLDR pin of the LM3445. This same
lower level signal is used to provide a stable power level to Vcc via
D2 and C5 (should the BLDR signal go too low, D2 and C5 will buffer
it). The main function of R5 is to ensure that a minimal amount of
current is drawn even at light loads (we want to make sure the
TRIAC in the dimmer remains conductive).
The AC signal on BLDR is compared to an internal fixed voltage to
determine the angle at which time the TRIAC is triggered. After level
limit and some noise filtering this angle signal is fed to the ASNS pin
where it is externally filtered by means of R1 & C3. The net result is
an analog signal which is indicative of the duty cycle of the mains AC
input. This signal then re-enters the LM3445 via its FLTR1 pin and is
used by an internal dim decoder circuit to limit it to a level correspon-
ding to duty cycle ratios between 25% and 75%. At the same time
this duty cycle limited signal is output in two forms. One is a PWM
style signal, output on the DIM pin, the other a DC level signal output
on the FLTR2 pin (in reality, the dim decoder first creates one and
then the other, details can be found in the datasheet).
The internally imposed duty cycle limits of 25% to 75% correspond to
dimmer firing angles between 45° and 135°. Note, though, that dim-
ming at angles above 135° is still possible. It is simply not done by
the internal dimming detect circuitry. At those dimming ratios, there
will be either voltage headroom or FET on-time limitations which will
in effect cause the LEDs to dim.
The actual LED driver section of the LM3445 is based around a con-
stant off-time control scheme. R4, Q3 and C11 generate a linear cur-
rent ramp which is fed into the COFF pin and used to generate the
off-time. With the off-time defined, the on-time of the DC/DC is deter-
mined by the peak current limit (i.e. Q2 is turned on until such time
as the peak current limit is reached). It is the DC output signal of the
dim decoder circuit (the same one as present on the FLT2 pin) which
determines the peak current limit. So the on-time is directly controlled
by main AC duty cycle. Varying on-time at constant off-time effective-
ly means changing the duty cycle, which in turn means changing the
average current through L2 and the LEDs. Hence we achieve dim-
ming.
The circuit on the top right side of figure 2, made up of D4, D8, D9,
C7 and C9, is a so-called valley-fill circuit and is used to provide the
power needed to drive the LED string.
Multiple Strings
In addition to providing basic TRIAC firing angle detection and con-
version into average LED current, the LM3445 also offers the ability
to provide a master dimming signal which can be used to daisy-chain
multiple LED drivers (either LM3445 or other types) in a master/slave
setup. This allows for accurate dimming control over multiple strings
and/or modules, making sure the overall visual effect of dimming over
a large number of strings/arrays is uniform and smooth. Figure 3
shows how such a master/slave dimming circuit could look like when
using multiple LM3445 devices.
The first LM3445 is operated in master mode, while all the others are
operated as slaves. Master mode operation is more or less automat-
ic; a master PWM dimming signal is provided via the DIM pin. The
one thing we do want to make sure though is that in the event of a
sudden input voltage drop, the master device detects this before any
of the slaves do so. To achieve this we place an additional diode in
series on the Vcc circuit. Slave mode is achieved by connecting the
FILT1 pin to Vcc. This disables the internal dim decoder and the DIM
pin can be used to input an external dimming signal (provided by the
master LM3445). Figure 3 shows an example where the valley-fill cir-
cuit is implemented separately on each device. In the case where
there are many slaves it may be advantageous to combine this circuit
into one larger circuit to be shared by all LED drivers.
Conclusion
The LM3445 makes it possible to create energy-efficient LED based
lighting solutions that can be dimmed using standard off-the-shelf
TRIAC based dimmers without visible flickering effects. With its ability
to enable dimmable lighting products at a significantly improved ener-
gy efficiency level, the LM3445 is part of National’s PowerWise®
family of products. More information on National’s energy-efficient
solutions can be found under www.national.com/powerwise.
www.national.com/powerwise
37www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
L I G H T I N G
Figure 2: Circuit diagram of the LM3445 being used to control anddim LEDs
Figure 3: Master/slave dimming circuit using multiple LM3445devices
L I G H T I N G
38 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Higher Efficiency in Lighting through Primary
Side RegulationAdvantages of High-Brightness Light Emitting Diodes are smaller
size, high illumination, longer lifetime and environmental protection
Global attention continues to focus on the methods for achieving low power consumptionand high efficiency. Lighting represents nearly 20% of the worldwide consumption of
electrical resources and advancements in lighting can have a tremendous impact. LEDsolid state lighting (SSL) is environmentally friendly for the global environment. It has asmart form factor, long life, high conversion efficiency, and substantially reduces power
consumption up to 80 or 90 percent compared to traditional incandescent lighting.
By Peter Hsieh, Leon Lee and Kevin Hsueh; Fairchild SemiconductorLED drivers play an important role in LED
SSLs, as these drivers provide accurate cur-
rent to maintain a stable brightness. Howev-
er, the traditional approach of the LED driver
used a secondary feedback circuitry for driv-
ing LED’s voltage and current. This second-
ary feedback circuit increases the cost and
size. This article shows a patented technolo-
gy “Primary Side Regulation” (PSR). This
PSR controller precisely regulates the volt-
age and current of the LED driver in the pri-
mary side of the transformer without the
need for secondary feedback circuitry. It
includes a frequency hopping technique to
reduce EMI and a green mode function to
reduce standby power losses. With this
approach, a PSR charger can achieve a
smaller form factor, lower standby power and
higher efficiency compared with conventional
designs, such as Ringing Chock Converter
(RCC) and traditional PWM.
An Overview of LED Lighting
Because of energy demand imbalance, the
cost of energy rising and the environmental
concerns, technologies that can conserve
power and be green are increasingly impor-
tant. Power losses in lighting represent can
be as much as 20 percent and recouping
this wasted energy through innovative tech-
niques can have a strong impact on energy-
savings. Energy-efficient regulations are
becoming more pervasive. In the US, there
is ENERGY STAR®, but Australia, European
Union and California have also announced
that they will gradually phase out tradition
lighting solutions.
Light Emitting Diode (LED) is actually the
same as a rectifier diode as it has unilateral
conduction. Compared with traditional light-
ing technologies, LED kind of Solid State
Lighting(SSL), transferring the electrical
energy to light by the semiconductor. The
advantages of LED lighting comparing to tra-
ditional lighting technologies are as shown
below: ( The advantages lists below )
1.) Drive by DC voltage and have high-
brightness even during low-voltage, low
current conditions. This solution can
achieve 80% energy savings compare to
other lighting sources in the same light-
ing illumination application. The lifetime
of high brightness LEDs can be as much
as 60,000~100,000 hours compared to
1000 hours of an incandescent bulb and
the LEDs offer fast reaction speed
(100ns ~ 1ns).
2.) Good monochromatic, common colors
are red, green, yellow and orange. Color
can be changed through changing the
current, and there are no ultraviolet and
infrared in optical spectrum compared
with traditional mercury cold cathode flu-
orescent lamps (CCFL) that contain less
harmful mercury metal elements, recy-
clables and offer better environmental
benefits.
3.) The LED offers small size, anti-vibration
and excellent impact resistance, and
offer the added advantage of making
them into various shapes in lamps.
Compare with LEDs, spiral energy saving
bulbs, and T5 fluorescent lamps, incandes-
cent lamp illumination efficiency was only
12lm/W, life time less than 2000 hours. Spi-
ral energy saving light bulbs illumination effi-
ciency was 60lm/W, with a lifetime of
approximately 8000 hours. T5 lamp illumina-
tion efficiency was 96lm/W, life time with
approximately 10,000 hours. The 5mm white
LED illumination efficiency was 20 ~ 28lm/W,
with a life time of approximately 100,000
hours. LEDs clearly have a longer lifespan
and more attractive features compare with
traditional lighting applications. High-Bright-
ness Light Emitting Diode (HBLED) is a
high-power, high-brightness LED. With its
longer life- time, small size and flexible
design, HBLEDs are already being adopted
as an alternative to traditional incandescent
and halogen products. HBLED applications
are commonly used in the following applica-
tions:
1. Screen display and traffic lights: Variety of
billboards, sports scoreboard and traffic
signals.
2. Vehicle lights: dashboard indicator, audio
and external LED brake lights, taillights,
side light, etc.
3. Backlight: mobile phones, digital cameras
and notebook computers backlight.
4. Landscape lighting, architectural lighting,
decorative lights, street lighting and resi-
dential lighting.
L I G H T I N G
39www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
As a new type of LED light source green
products, these are bound to be the next
trend in the development of the next genera-
tion.
A High Brightness LED Driver using a Pri-
mary Side Regulation Controller
LED lighting has many advantages as
described above but without the correct volt-
age and precise current, these devices can-
not only decrease the lifetime but also
increase power losses and heat consump-
tion and ultimately, causing irreparable dam-
age to the LED. Consider the physical prop-
erty of LED like general diode in that it has a
sharp V-I curve. The LED operating voltage
is quite sensitive to operating current and
impact HB-LED unit lifetime in case of
changing widely. Therefore, LED current is
very important to lighting illumination. For
this reason, the PSR with outstanding con-
stant current technology is important and
instrumental for the longevity of the HB-LED
unit. Non-isolated Buck converters or isolate
Flyback converters are commonly used in
LED drivers.
An offline constant output current LED driver
can be implemented using an isolated fly-
back converter with secondary circuit to
achieved output current regulation as shown
in Figure 1 for conventional LED control cir-
cuit. The LED current is measured through a
current-sense resistor Ro from the second-
ary side and provides the necessary feed-
back information through an optocoupler.
The optocoupler forms isolation for primary
and secondary side and couples the feed-
back signal to the PWM controller at the pri-
mary side. To achieve better output regula-
tion, the PWM controller receives the feed-
back single from secondary site through the
optocoupler to decide the MOSFET duty
cycle. This approach provides precise cur-
rent control but the drawback is higher
device count is needed, which means more
board space is required, higher cost and
lower reliability. Meanwhile, the current-
sense resistor RO will also increase the
power losses and decrease the efficiency of
the power supply for constant current regula-
tion. Recently, efficiency and power savingFigure 1: Conventional Secondary Side Regulation Flyback Converter for LED driver
40 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
requirements are becoming more and more
important for LED drivers. Smaller size is
also needed for LED applications. Hence,
the conventional circuit will no longer meet
this requirement. This article provides a
method using primary side control that can
reduce device counts and provide better effi-
ciency.
The Primary Side regulation (PSR) tech-
nique can be an optimal solution to minimize
the costs for offline LED drivers and provides
precise current control without using an
optocoupler at secondary site. The concept
of PSR uses an innovative method to detect
the output information by auxiliary winding
without feedback circuit and takes the place
of optocoupler form secondary site as shown
in Figure 2. Figure 2 shows the basic circuit
diagram of a flyback converter using a pri-
mary side controller and its principal opera-
tion waveforms.
When the PSR controller turns on the MOS-
FET, the transformer current iP will increases
linearly from zero to ipk as Equation (1). Dur-
ing the turn-on period the energy is stored in
the transformer. When the MOSFET turns off
(toff), the energy stored in transformer will
deliver to the output of the power converter
through the output rectifier. During this peri-
od, the output voltage VO and diode forward
voltage VF will be reflected to the auxiliary
winding NAUX, the voltage on the auxiliary
winding NAUX can be expressed by Equation
(2). A proprietary sampling technology is
applied to sample the reflected voltage. The
correlated output voltage information can be
obtained because the forward voltage of the
output rectifier becomes a constant. After
that, the sampled voltage compares with a
precise reference voltage to develop a volt-
age loop for determining the on-time of the
MOSFET and regulating an accurate con-
stant output voltage.
(1)
(2)
where LP is the primary winding inductance
of the transformer; VIN is the input voltage of
the transformer; ton is the on time period of
the MOSFET; NAUX/NS is the turn ratio of the
)(
S
AUXAUX FO VV
NNv +×=
onp
pk tLVi ×= IN
L I G H T I N G
Figure 3: V-I curve by Using PSR controller
Figure 2: basic circuit diagram of Flyback Converter using Primary Side Controller and its waveforms
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auxiliary winding and secondary output winding; VO is the output volt-
age; the VF is the forward voltage of the output rectifier.
This sampling approach also duplicates a discharge time (tdis) of the
transformer as shown in Figure 2, the output current IO is related to
secondary side current of the transformer. It can be calculated by the
signal ipk, tdis as Equation (3). The PSR controller uses this result to
determine the on-time of the MOSFET and regulate a constant output
current. The current-sense resistor RSENSE is utilized to adjust the
value of the output current.
(3)
where tS is the switching period of the PSR controller; NP/NS is the
turn ratio of the primary winding and secondary output winding;
RSENSE is the sense resistance for converting the switching current of
the transformer to a voltage VCS.
Implementing a HB LED Driver by Using a PSR controller
Implementing a HB LED driver to drive three HB LEDs in a series so
that the output specification is 12V/0.35A. By using the PSR con-
troller FSEZ1016A that integrates a PSR controller and a600V/1A
MOSFET will help to reduce external components, PCB size, reduce
power losses and signal noise on the MOSFET’s driver circuit and
will also reduce interference. To minimize standby power losses, the
proprietary green-mode function provides off-time modulation to
decrease the PWM frequency linearly at light-load and no load condi-
tions to easily meet the most of green requirements. The built-in fre-
quency hopping function further improves EMI performance.
The experiment shows constant current (CC) regulation can achieve
1.8% with fold-back voltage 4V as shown in Figure 3 and suitable for
widely VDD range and the CC capability is relative with output volt-
age. The efficiency was 77.66% at 115Vac input and 77.40% at
230Vac input, max no load power saving 0.115W. By using
FSEZ1016A, a lighting solution can be implemented with fewest
external components and minimize cost.
Conclusion
As there is a stronger focus on creating energy-efficient electronics,
innovative techniques will be needed in lighting applications to
replace traditional incandescent and halogen products. The advan-
tages of HBLEDs are smaller size, high illumination, longer lifetime
and environmental protection. All of these advantages will be instru-
mental factors why these products will gradually replace conventional
lighting products. For provide better capability of HBLED, control cir-
cuits must using constant current for the LED driver. This article
shows a patented “Primary Side Regulation” (PSR) technology. The
PSR controller precisely regulates the voltage and the current for
LED Driver in the primary side of the transformer without secondary
feedback circuitry provides small size, longer life and environment
protect product. The experiment shows PSR can provides constant
current (CC) regulation 1.8%, efficiency 77.66% at 115Vac input and
77.40% at 230Vac, and input, max no load power saving 0.115W. By
using this PSR technique can be an optimal solution to minimize the
cost for offline LED drivers.
www.fairchildsemi.com
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41www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
KOLEKTOR MAGMA d.o.o.
former Iskra Feriti
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Rail/marine drive controls
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42 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
C O M M U N I C A T I O N P O W E R
It’s Good, but is it Green?
Power over Ethernet (PoE) has won accept-
ance as a convenient and flexible way to
connect powered devices such as VoIP
phones, wireless access points, or security
cameras to a LAN. Benefits include reduced
costs as well as valuable flexibility for net-
work managers and users.
Among the main attractions of PoE, consoli-
dating data and power on a single cable
save significant cabling and installation
costs. Connection points to the LAN can be
added easily and at low cost, and the loca-
tions of Ethernet Powered Devices (PDs)
can also be altered quickly and easily. A fur-
ther benefit is that, while conventional mains
wall socket formats vary around the world,
PoE utilises the globally recognised and
approved RJ45 so that any PD can be used
in any country.
There is now a growing demand to increase
the specified maximum rating for Ethernet
PDs, which is currently 13W. The next-gen-
eration standard, soon to be ratified as
IEEE802.3at, will allow PDs up to 25.5W to
be powered from the LAN cable. This will
open-up the PoE market to a far wider range
of equipment and applications. Some inde-
pendent end-to-end PoE solutions are tar-
geting even higher power ratings, using
components such as ON Semiconductor’s
integrated PoE-PD controller and DC-DC
converter IC for Ethernet-connected devices
up to 40 Watts.
But as PoE moves forward to address
increasingly power-hungry applications,
there are valid doubts about overall system
efficiency. Despite its established advan-
tages, PoE must also now prove its green
credentials.
Natural Barriers
On first inspection, the indicators are not
good. At the higher power ratings, distribu-
tion losses in the Ethernet cable will be
greater than in an ordinary AC line. Although
PoE technology seeks to take advantage of
distributing power over an existing cable, the
cable itself actually restricts PoE’s potential.
The Ethernet cable can be a twisted pair
CAT5, CAT5e or CAT6 cable. These types of
cables differ in loop resistance - CAT5 has a
loop resistance of 20Ù and CAT5e or 6 one
of 12.5Ù. The fact that the data cable need
not be run in conduit and is considered
unprotected, and that the technology
requires a DC voltage, also limits the maxi-
mum voltage level on the cable to 57V for
safety reasons.
However, the lower the supply voltage, the
more current is needed for the same power
level and the more conductance loss in the
cable. Therefore PoE has a disadvantage
against the mains network since voltage is
lower and the cable has a higher resistance.
Since the voltage level in the mains network
is much higher the loss incurred in the mains
cable is minimal.
Consider a motorized, high-power security
camera rated at 20W with the power sup-
plied either over the Ethernet cable accord-
ing to the IEEE802.3at standard, or via 120V
or 220V mains through a wall adapter. The
latest version of the Energy Star specifica-
tion (2.0) requires efficiencies up to 82% for
“wall wart”-style mains adapters. The figure
is valid in the 20W range for full power oper-
ation. At this required efficiency level, 24W is
taken from the power grid to supply a cam-
era of 20W.
Power over Ethernet Moves Forward
Brains as well as brawn boost efficiency for 25.5-Watt Ethernet Powered Devices
To deliver environmentally sound solutions using the latest 25-Watt and higher Powerover Ethernet adapters, designers need to take advantage of the intelligent features
included in the PoE standard.
By Koen Geirnaert, Product Marketing Manager, ON Semiconductor
Figure 1: PoE configuration
43www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
C O M M U N I C A T I O N P O W E R
Using PoE and a (PSE) platform, the voltage
is converted from the mains to an output
voltage in accordance with the IEEE802.3at
PoE specification. Figure 1 shows a PoE
camera with the required voltage levels on
the cable according to the IEEE standards.
20W can only be supported by the new high-
er power IEEE802.3at standard. On the
cable some power is lost due to the 12.5Ù
resistance of the cable. On the PD side
there is again a DC-DC converter converting
the DC voltage to the appropriate level for
that device.
The power-balance chart of figure 2 com-
pares the losses in the PoE system with
those in the line-powered arrangement. Due
to the three steps in a PoE configuration, its
power balance appears to be inferior since
the input power is 10.3W higher to deliver
20W.
However, recall that PoE is designed to dis-
tribute data and power over the same cable.
Hence a convenient data connection is avail-
able, which can be used as a communica-
tions channel to help manage more intelli-
gent power distribution. Implementing power
saving algorithms in the Power Sourcing
Equipment (PSE) can compensate for power
losses in the cable. In this way overall sys-
tem efficiency can match or exceed that of
an alternative line-powered arrangement.
The 10.3W difference between a PoE
approach and a wall socket implementation
is true only at full-load operating conditions.
In practice, for the majority of the time the
converter is not operating at full load but in
standby or somewhere in between. With this
in mind, and anticipating improved power
management using intelligent communica-
tions, PoE has a greener character than
many have recognized.
Thinking Green
By adding intelligence to the PSE within the
switch, individual ports can be switched off
completely during periods when the equip-
ment connected to that port is not in use.
This is difficult with a conventional mains
adapter. WLAN access points and VoIP
phones in an enterprise environment are two
good examples to illustrate the potential for
valuable savings. Typically the equipment is
only used during office hours, but each unit
is usually powered all the time. Manually
turning them on and off at night time and at
weekends could result in an ‘off time’ of
around 65%.
The upcoming IEEE802.3at standard
includes several features to implement
power-down of the PD side from the PSE
side. The layer 2 protocol contains Power
status communication frames, for example,
which allow the PD board to send a mes-
sage to the PSE to stop powering the port. If
at the same time the detection resistor is
also removed the PSE will not re-power the
port until the detection resistor is again avail-
able. The detection resistor can be discon-
nected via a switch on the application. This
switch can be mechanically operated (such
as by taking a phone off the hook) or elec-
tronically controlled via a small power
source. This could be a battery or solar cell
on the application.
Visible Improvement
Considering again the example of a security
camera, the power demand is greatest when
the motors are moving the camera – such as
to follow a moving object. During these peri-
ods the power demand is close to the maxi-
mum level of 20W. But for most of its operat-
ing life the camera is motionless and power
is required only to enable monitoring. In this
state, the actual power requirement is far
less than 20W; in fact typical power con-
sumption is only around 25% of full load. In
these operating conditions a single power
supply is working with efficiency of approxi-
mately 50% - far less than 82% for maxi-
mum load conditions.
On the PSE side several ports must be
served. There may be 24 or 48 ports, and by
satisfying demands on a per-port basis
through communication between the load
and the port, the overall power can be bud-
geted. By taking the average of the overall
power budget, the supply of the switch can
work most of the time around its optimum
efficiency point. Based on this principle the
power supply on the PSE side can be much
more efficient in total than individual wall
wart converters.
Furthermore, since not all ports demand full
power at all times it is also feasible to install
a quality-of-service algorithm on the PSE
switch. This delivers an additional benefit by
allowing the use of a much smaller power
supply to achieve extra cost savings in the
switch hardware.
Conclusion
The initial success of Power over Ethernet
has led, inevitably, to demands to support
higher power ratings. But in today’s environ-
mentally aware world, the 25.5W standard
arriving in 2009 must demonstrate accept-
able power efficiency if it is to find a place.
This can be achieved through improved
management of Ethernet PDs, taking advan-
tage of the cable’s data channel to support
intelligent power-control techniques.
www.onsemi.com
Figure 2: Power balance PoE versus wall socket
Still, there are many areas in which the uti-
lization of PXI is only partially explored. This
article illustrates some new ways to utilize
PXI for test systems incorporating
JTAG/Boundary Scan.
What is PXI?
PXI (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation) is
an open industry standard for modular
measurement and automation systems
(www.pxisa.org). Based on and compliant to
Compact-PCI, PXI combines the PCI-specifi-
cation with new instrumentation specific fea-
tures, taking advantage of the high perform-
ance of state-of-the-art PC-systems and their
low cost. Based on the high-speed PCI bus,
data rates up to 132MB/s are possible.
As opposed to a PCI based system, PXI pro-
vides up to 21 slots in a 3U PXI rack in addi-
tion to the system controller. In addition, the
PXI standard includes EMI and cooling spec-
ifications as well as other features promoting
easy integration of various modules from dif-
ferent vendors in flexible, high-performance
systems:
Trigger Bus for synchronization between
modules;
Local Bus for data transfer between mod-
ules in neighboring slots;
10 MHz system clock available on all mod-
ule slots;
Star Trigger signals in a star configuration
from Slot 2 to all other slots;
PXI specifies Microsoft Windows 9x/2000/NT
or XP as the operating system, providing for
a wide range of available application soft-
ware. The definition of VISA (Virtual Instru-
ment Software Architecture) ensures soft-
ware compatibility for communication and
control between PXI systems and interoper-
ability with Compact-PCI, PCI, VXI and GPIB
applications.
PXI, initiated by National Instruments as an
extension of the PC internal PCI bus, has
enjoyed a rapid and wide adoption in the
measurement and automation industry. And
the number of vendors and their PXI offer-
ings is constantly growing.
The modularity of a PXI system as well as
the many proven software solutions avail-
able on the market today allow the users to
specify and build a customized, open system
for their specific applications. Such a system
benefits not only from the high performance
of the PCI bus, but also from the many spe-
cial communication, trigger, and synchro-
nization signals defined in the PXI specifica-
tion. Those valuable features are in particu-
lar utilized in modern PXI based Functional
Testers. PXI’s compactness as well as the
small price in comparison to other industrial
bus systems are further benefits.
Widely adopted by the test industry, PXI
presents itself as valuable and useful also
for manufacturing test applications such as
JTAG/Boundary Scan.
What is JTAG/Boundary Scan?
JTAG/Boundary Scan has been developed in
the late 1980s by the “Joint Test Action
Group (JTAG)” and was approved as IEEE-
Standard 1149.1 in 1990. IEEE-Std. 1149.1
defines test resources to be implemented in
digital ICs to support a structural intercon-
nect test. Related standards are IEEE-Std.
1149.4 for analog and mixed-signal test, and
IEEE-Std. 1149.6 for the test of advanced
digital networks.
How does Boundary Scan / IEEE 1149.1
work?
Figure 1 provides an overview of the test
resources built into an IEEE-1149.1 compli-
ant device.
The so-called Boundary Scan Register is
made up by the Boundary Scan Cells. Each
digital I/O pin of the IC is typically connected
to up to three Boundary Scan (BScan) Cells:
an input cell to measure the pin’s logic
value, an output cell to drive the pin, and a
control cell to activate and deactivate the pin
driver. In normal mode the BScan Cells do
not influence the signals on the pins. In test
mode, however, the BScan cells take control
over the I/O pins. The internal functional
blocks of the device (core logic) are essen-
tially disconnected from the pins at that
point. Therefore, by loading the BScan cells
with the appropriate values, the pins can be
stimulated and observed. This way the
Boundary Scan Register (serial connection
of all BScan cells) is used to apply test pat-
tern to and to measure response pattern on
the IC’s I/O pins in order to perform structur-
al interconnection tests at board and system
level.
The main advantage this technology pro-
vides is the embedded test access to circuit
nodes, reducing or eliminating the need for
44 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
T E S T & M E A S U R E M E N T
Extending the reach ofJTAG/Boundary Scan
PXI based Boundary Scan systems featuring advanced test resources
In the recent years, PXI has established its position in the test and measurement industry,especially due to features such as high data transfer rates and small footprint of open,
flexible PXI systems.
By Mario Berger, GOEPEL electronic GmbH
Figure 1: typical Boundary Scan/JTAGdevice
45www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
T E S T & M E A S U R E M E N T
mechanical access through bed-of-nail fix-
tures or Flying probes (see figure 2).
JTAG/Boundary Scan works around the
problems current and future device packag-
ing and board density create for mechanical
test access methodologies. Since the test
access is accomplished through resources
built into the devices themselves, no – or
fewer – test points are required on the PCB,
which simplifies board layout. Furthermore,
for JTAG/Boundary Scan the physical layout
of the board is not of interest. Tests can be
developed concurrently to the board layout
design or even before the layout process
begins, since for Boundary Scan test devel-
opment only the information about pin level
connections and the available Boundary
Scan resources and non-Boundary Scan
device functionality is needed, all of which is
available with the schematic of the Unit
Under Test. This approach enables the test
engineers to evaluate the testability via
Boundary Scan and to ensure sufficient
overall test coverage, often by combining
Boundary Scan with other test technologies.
Test programs are available for the first pro-
totype boards and can easily be modified for
the final version of the Unit Under test for
utilization in production test and even field
service. The latter requires flexible and com-
pact test equipment, but what amount of
hardware is really needed?
Primarily, access to the Boundary Scan Reg-
isters as well as control over the mode of the
BScan ICs (normal mode or test mode) is
required for Boundary Scan test execution,
all of which is done through the IEEE 1149.1
Test Access Port (TAP). The TAP consists of
4 signals: TDI (Test Data In), TDO (Test Data
Out), TMS (Test Mode Select), and TCK
(Test Clock). An optional fifth signal, the Test
Reset, may be implemented. So, the
required test equipment includes a Boundary
Scan controller to access the TAP, respec-
tive software to control the Boundary Scan
sequences, and a power supply (Boundary
Scan requires the Unit Under Test to be
powered up).
Teamwork: PXI based JTAG/Boundary
Scan test system
How can Boundary Scan take advantage of
instrumentation features made available
through PXI? Essentially, the benefits can be
summarized with two words: flexibility and
versatility. In a minimum configuration, sim-
ply adding a PXI Boundary Scan Controllers
(figure 3) to the PXI system, and implement-
ing respective software control, immediately
allows the execution of applications utilizing
the IEEE 1149.1 protocol.
The modularity of a PXI system promotes
such simple integrations. Simply running
Boundary Scan test pattern controlled by a
PXI system is nothing new, though. A revolu-
tionary approach lays in surpassing the limits
of plain Boundary Scan and in performance
improvements. The trigger features PXI
offers are the key for such integrations.
Until now, the power supply of the Unit
Under Test could not be tested while Bound-
ary Scan vectors were applied. This would
be of essential value though. If the power
supply does not work properly, then such
faults often can be diagnosed only after
lengthy debug sessions, which may addition-
ally stress the Unit Under Test (UUT). With
Boundary Scan controllers based on PXI this
gap in testability can easily be closed. Pro-
grammable current sources provided on a
PXI card can record voltage and current val-
ues throughout the Boundary Scan Test exe-
cution. By correlating these recorded values
to specific Boundary Scan vectors, events
such as Ground-Bounce or shorts to power
supply rails on the Unit Under Test can be
diagnosed automatically. Also part of the PXI
system could be modules providing tools for
the measurement and/or stimulation of ana-
log values; all synchronized to Boundary
Scan stimulus and response pattern. Such
modules support a new quality of extended
Boundary Scan applications. Digital I/O mod-
ules for the test of the UUT’s peripheral con-
nectors via Boundary Scan are state of the
art. However, controlling such modules
through the parallel PXI bus synchronized to
Boundary Scan pattern applied to the UUT
(instead of through a serial IEEE 1149.1 TAP
as part of the Boundary Scan chain) allows
for a faster test execution and – for a first
time – allows the test software to treat UUT
and I/O modules as independent units. Thus,
typically time intensive Boundary Scan appli-
cations, such as In-System Configuration of
FLASH devices, can be executed much
faster in such an environment.
Summary
These few examples suggest the enormous
potential that lays in PXI based
JTAG/Boundary Scan solutions. The open,
modular structure, combined with the trigger
and local bus features, provides an ideal
high-performance platform for current and
upcoming technology trends not only in the
world of Boundary Scan. These new PXI
based Boundary Scan modules pave the
road for new and advanced Boundary Scan
applications.
In 1999, GOEPEL electronic decided as the
worldwide first vendor of Boundary Scan test
systems to develop a Boundary Scan for the
PXI platform. Since then, the company has
continuously developed new PXI modules
for JTAG/Boundary Scan applications and
today offers a wide spectrum of Boundary
Scan test equipment for PXI solutions,
including Boundary Scan Controllers, pro-
grammable power supplies with tracing
capabilities, various digital I/O modules, and
modules for analog and mixed-signal tests.
References:
GÖPEL electronic, Boundary Scan Tutorial,
AE0007HE
Heiko Ehrenberg, Incorporating Boundary
Scan tools in PXI based ATE systems,
AutoTestCon 2003 Paper AU-072
PXI System Alliance, PXI specification,
www.pxisa.org/specs.htm
GÖPEL electronic, PXI/PCI Guide 2004
www.goepel.com
Figure 2: Comparing In-Circuit Test withJTAG / Boundary Scan
Figure 3: Boundary Scan ControllerSFX/PXI1149.1-(x)
Figure 4: PXI module family for BoundaryScan applications
46 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
N E W P R O D U C T S
IXYS Corporation announced the release of
half-bridge MOSFET modules that are avail-
able in IXYS’ proprietary ISOPLUS i4-
PACTM packaging. These modules provide
unsurpassed thermal performance and tem-
perature cycling capabilities making them
ideal for applications implementing heat sink
grounding techniques. These devices are
also suitable for designers who seek isolated
half-bridge configurations integrated into one
single package avoiding the use of multiple
discrete devices thus promoting critical
board layout space savings.
The i4-PACTM is a UL recognized isolated
package incorporating a direct copper bond
(DCB) ceramic isolator which provides
2500Vrms isolation with superior thermal
performance. In comparison with convention-
al package housings, the ISOPLUS i4-PAC
yielded as high as a 45% decrease in ther-
mal resistance. These modules exhibit excel-
lent switching behavior due to low inductive
current paths as dice are located within one
package. An additional feature includes a
reduction in EMI emissions due to the low
coupling capacitance between die and heat
sink. These half-bridge modules take full
advantage of proven technology platforms
commonly implemented in both the IXYS
Trench and Polar discrete MOSFET product
families.
www.ixys.com
Half-Bridge MOSFET Modules in ISOPLUS i4-PAC
Schaffner has extended its popular FN 3280
filter family for use in higher power applica-
tions. New models are now available rated
at 300A, 400A and 600A. Complementing
the existing series, the new filter models
offer users superior EMC performance, com-
pact dimensions and low leakage current.
By expanding its successful FN 3280 series
Schaffner has made it possible, for the first
time, to use high-performance EMC/EMI fil-
ters in four-wire (3 phase + Neutral) technol-
ogy for higher-power applications. The new
300A, 400A and 600A models are particular-
ly designed for use in large industrial
machines and plants with numerous motor
drives, long motor cables and high interfer-
ence levels. They can also be used in invert-
er and converter applications such as Unin-
terruptible Power Supply (UPS) for example,
or in the area of renewable energy.
www.schaffner.uk.com
EMC/EMI filters handle up to 600 Amps
Microchip announces a family of 8- and 32-
kByte stand-alone serial SRAM devices
designed to increase a system’s available
RAM through adding small, inexpensive
external devices. The 23A640, 23K640 (23 x
640), 23A256 and 23K256 (23 x 256)
devices feature a familiar, industry standard
SPI interface, providing increased design
flexibility while reducing design and produc-
tion costs.
Many embedded applications require volatile
RAM for temporary data storage, or for use
as a scratchpad, for bulk processing and for
math algorithms. In many cases, this RAM is
embedded within the microcontroller (MCU).
In the past, the most viable way to add more
RAM was to buy a larger MCU, which could
add unnecessary feature overhead and
increase design costs. The only alternative
was to add large, parallel-access RAM
devices that use up large numbers of I/O
pins.
Microchip’s serial SRAM devices provide a
simple, inexpensive way for designers to add
more RAM to their application while keeping
the same MCU or, as they require fewer
MCU I/O resources, even using a smaller
MCU. The serial RAM devices require just
four I/O pins as opposed to 16 or 24 pins for
a parallel RAM. Additionally, the devices fea-
ture a bus speed of 20MHz for fast access,
and low operating and standby currents to
help extend battery life.
www.microchip.com/SRAM
Stand-Alone Serial SRAM Devices
Chroma's 63800 Series AC Electronic Loads
are designed for testing uninterruptible
power supplies(UPS), Off-Grid Inverters, AC
sources and other power devices such as
switches, circuit breakers, fuses and connec-
tors
The Chroma 63800 Loads can simulate load
conditions under high crest factor and vary-
ing power factors with real time compensa-
tion even when the voltage waveform is dis-
torted. This special feature provides real
world simulation capability and prevents
overstressing thereby giving reliable and
unbiased test results.
The 63800's state of the art designed uses
DSP technology to simulate non-linear recti-
fied loads in a unique RLC operation mode.
This mode improves stability by detecting
the impedance of the UUT and dynamically
adjusting the load's control bandwidth to
ensure system stability.
Equipped with unique timing measurement
functions, the 63800 Loads allow users to
measure critical timing parameters such as
battery discharge time, the trip time for fuse
and breaker testing and UPS transfer time.
www.chromausa.com
Programmable AC Electronic Load
N E W P R O D U C T S
47www.bodospower.com March 2009 Bodo´s Power Systems®
Micrel launched the MIC23150, the highest
output current device in the popular Hyper-
Light LoadTM family of synchronous step-
down regulators. The patented architecture
implemented in the MIC23150 delivers
extremely high efficiency light load for
portable products and green home/office
appliances. The MIC23150 features internal
MOSFETs able to deliver up to 1.5 Amps
output current while consuming just 23 Micro
Amps of quiescent current inside a tiny 2mm
x 2mm Thin MLF® package. As with many
other members of the HyperLight LoadTM
family of step-down regulators, the
MIC23150 achieves up to 93 percent peak
efficiency and an impressive 87 percent effi-
ciency under a 1mili Amp load. The
MIC23150 is available in fixed output options
of 1.0V, 1.2V, 1.8V, and 3.3V with pricing
starting at $1.00 for 1K quantities.
www.micrel.com
1.5A HyperLight LoadTM Regulator
SynQor, Inc. has announced triple output
versions of its ACuQor medical grade AC/DC
power supply series that provide continuous
output power ratings of up to 500W, with
700W transient capability. The units are
believed to be the only standard supplies
available that are compliant with Type BF
and CF Applied Parts approval as detailed in
IEC 60601-1 for equipment used in patient
contact applications without any external fil-
tering or additional isolation transformers.
Moreover, units are optionally available with
a Type CFD Defibrillator Proof output with
5000V isolation, making them the ideal
choice for Cardiac Care equipment.
www.synqor.com
Triple Output 500W Medical Grade Power Supplies
Chomerics Europe, a division of Parker Han-
nifin, has introduced a new ultra-soft mould-
ed elastomer EMI shielding gasket. CHO-
SEAL® 1270 is ideal for use in designs
where superior mechanical performance,
excellent electrical conductivity, and long
term stability are required. Typical applica-
tions can be found in handheld electronics,
infotainment systems, test equipment, mili-
tary electronics, navigation devices,
ruggedised computers and routers
CHO-SEAL® 1270 consists of silver plated
copper particles dispersed within a silicone
elastomer. The material has a typical Shore
A durometer hardness of 35 +/- 5 and a low
compression set figure of just 9%
Shielding effectiveness is greater than 70dB
between 100 MHz and 10 GHz. The new
material is available in various product forms
including compression moulded sheets, die-
cut parts and custom moulded shapes.
Available thicknesses range from 0.25mm
(0.010in.) to 3.18 mm (0.125 in.).
www.parker.com/chomerics
Ultra-Soft EMI Gasket Delivers 70dB Shielding
ROHM Semiconductor now offers the
updated white paper, “Controlling DC
Brush Motors with H-bridge Driver ICs,
2nd Edition,” as a free download on its
website. The white paper provides valu-
able information for engineers who wish to
use low-cost, DC brush motors in motion
control. Applications include robotics,
portable electronics, sporting equipment,
appliances, medical devices, automotive
applications, and power tools.
www.rohmsemiconductor.com
White Paper on H-bridge Driver
ICs in DC Brush Motor DesignsNew from Torex Semiconductor is the
XC9133 Series, a fixed frequency, constant
current, step-up DC-DC converter that is
ideal for driving the white LEDs used in LCD
backlighting applications in a wide range of
hand-held designs, such as PDAs, mobile
phones and digital cameras.
The XC9133 device has an input voltage
range of 2.5 to 6.0V and can deliver output
voltages up to 17.5V. Thus from a 2.5V input, four white LEDs can
be driven in series. Alternatively, using an input of 3.2V or more, the
new DC-DC converter is able to drive a network of two parallel banks
of three LEDs. The luminance of the LEDs is controlled by varying
the duty cycle of a 10kHz PWM signal applied to the device’s CE pin.
www.torex-europe.com
Step-Up DC-DC Converter
For Hand-Helds
N E W P R O D U C T S
48 Bodo´s Power Systems® March 2009 www.bodospower.com
Avago Bound Insert
Bicron Electronics 41
Bodo´s Power Systems 35
Cirrus-APEX 9
CT-Concepts 3+C3
Danfoss 19
EMV Stuttgart 29
EPE Barcelona 27
Ferraz Shawmut 25
Fuji Electric 11
Infineon 17
Intersil 13
IR C4
IXYS 39
Kolektor 41
LEM 5
Maxwell Technologies 33
New Energy 50
PCIM China 23
PCIM Europe 15
Semikron C2
SMT Mesago 49
SPI 40
VMI 1
Würth Elekronik 1
ADVERTISING INDEX
Key Facts:
• Enhanced support for BLDC and PMSM
based applications using dsPIC® DSCs
• MPLAB® now provides graphical interface
for tuning motor control parameters in real
time
• Full source code for complex motor con-
trol algorithms provided free of charge
Microchip announces expanded support for
Motor Control applications based on the
dsPIC® Digital Signal Controller (DSC). The
dsPICDEMTM MCLV Development Board
(part #DM330021) is a new low-voltage
Brushless DC (BLDC) motor-control devel-
opment platform supporting the dsPIC33F
family of motor control DSCs. It provides a
cost-effective method for evaluating and
developing sensored or sensorless BLDCs
and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
(PMSM) control applications.
www.microchip.com/motor
Expanded Support for Motor Control with New Tools and Libraries
Does the following problem sound familiar?
You have compiled your project. The result –
no errors and no warnings. Everything is
functioning fine in your debugger.
But, once you have loaded your application
into the target’s flash memory, nothing
works.
What’s happened? This is where HEXit
comes into play: HEXit analyses your hex
file. It checks the storage allocation, address
distribution, the distribution of your program
code and data and it also looks for address-
es that have been used more than once.
The results are displayed graphically. This
helps you detect any possible problems
swiftly and clearly. In the example problem
mentioned above, it may turn out, for exam-
ple, that the reset vector is empty, or that the
specified address area does not comply with
the hardware.
HEXit features:
• Windows versions from 9x to Vista is sup-
ported
• Intel hex files as well as binary files can
be analyse
• bin2hex conversion – converts binary files
to one or two Intel-HEX files, taking into
account the address spaces
• hex2bin conversion – converts Intel-HEX
files or parts of Intel-HEX files to binary
files
• Graphical analysis of the storage alloca-
tion of Intel-HEX files. A variety of filters
allow data to be clearly displayed graphi-
cally and as text (see screenshot)
• As the checksum is built via a polynomial
selection process, different CRCs can be
calculated across multiple address spaces
• Splits data areas from an Intel-HEX file
into two new files (e.g. file is subdivided
for internal and external flash memory)
• Links several Intel-HEX files to form one
new file (e.g. for program and data fusion)
• File generator for generating test files (e.g.
constant data, ramp or random data). Can
also be used to generate jump tables
• C-Include transformer for including files in
C sources
• Batch mode for controlling HEXit functions
via batch instructions
• Worldwide application in the TV/video,
automotive, measuring instrument and
industrial machinery sectors
• Demo version is available at
www.hse-electronics.de
Verify Your Compiler Output (hex files) Without the Slightest Effort
As wireless network systems designers look
to alternative energy sources, Texas Instru-
ments announced a solar energy harvesting
(SEH) development kit that converts ambient
light into power for industrial, transportation,
agricultural and commercial applications.
The credit card-sized eZ430-RF2500-SEH
kit combines Cymbet Corporation’s Ener-
Chip™ thin-film battery technology with TI’s
MSP430 microcontrollers (MCU), CC2500
radio frequency (RF) transceivers and the
eZ430-RF2500 development tool.
Developers can now build self powered
solar-based wireless sensor networks, elimi-
nating system batteries, which cost time and
money to periodically replace, especially in
remote locations. The $149 eZ430-RF2500-
SEH kit is sampling now and is available via
the TI e-store or authorized distributors.
www.cymbet.com
www.ti.com
Solar Energy Harvesting Kit
wwwsmt-exhibition.com
Organizer: Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH, Rotebuehlstrasse 83–85, D-70178 Stuttgart, Tel. +49 711 61946-79, Fax +49 711 61946-93, [email protected]
The place to be!
Exhibition & ConferenceNuremberg 5–7 May 2009
Germany
Look ahead, think ahead!
12–15 March 2009 · Husum, Germany
International fair for the use ofrenewable energy sources
www.new-energy.de
Special focus
on small
wind turbines
Naturalmatch!
Features+15V/-10V gate voltage
3W output power
20A gate current
80ns delay time
Direct and half-bridge mode
Parallel operation
Integrated DC/DC converter
Electrical isolation for 1700V IGBTs
Power supply monitoring
Short-circuit protection
Fast failure feedback
Superior EMC
2SP0320 is the ultimate driver platform for PrimePACKTM IGBT
modules. As a member of the CONCEPT Plug-and-play driver
family, it satisfies the requirements for optimized electrical
performance and noise immunity. Shortest design cycles are
achieved without compromising overall system efficiency in
any way. Specifically adapted drivers are available for all
module types. A direct paralleling option allows integrated
inverter design covering all power ratings. Finally, the highly
integrated SCALE-2 chipset reduces the component count
by 80% compared to conventional solutions, thus signifi-
cantly increasing reliability and reducing cost. The drivers are
available with electrical and fiberoptic interfaces.
PrimePACKTM is a trademark of Infineon Technologies AG, Munich
2SP0320
SAMPLES AVAILABLE!
CT-Concept Technologie AG, Renferstrasse 15, CH-2504 Biel, Switzerland, Phone +41-32-344 47 47 www.IGBT-Driver.com
Part Number Package VOFFSET VOUT
IO+ & IO- (typical)
tON & tOFF
(typical)
AUIRS2123S SOIC8 600V 10V - 20V 500mA 140 ns & 140 ns
AUIRS2124S SOIC8 600V 10V - 20V 500mA 140 ns & 140 ns
The AUIRS212xS family of 600V, single
channel high-side driver ICs for low-,
mid-, and high-voltage automotive
applications features exceptional
negative Vs immunity to deliver the
ruggedness and reliability essential for
harsh environments and automotive
under-the-hood applications.
Features
• Designed and characterized to be
tolerant to repetitive Vs transient
voltage
• Fully operational up to 600V
• Tolerant to large dV/ dt
• Under voltage lockout
• Lead-free, RoHS compliant
• Automotive qualified per AEC-Q100
t
VS Undershoot
VS -COM
-VS
VBUS
Greater protectionagainst a “negative Vs” event
t
Rugged, ReliableAutomotive-Qualified 600V ICs
THE POWER MANAGEMENT LEADER
For more information call +33 (0) 1 64 86 49 53 or +49 (0) 6102 884 311or visit us at www.irf.com
600V i lV0
Hall 12, Stand 202
10388AD_AUIR2123_BODOS_v2.indd 1 04/02/2009 12:08
