IR Introduces Fast and Rugged 1200V and 600V High Voltage Gate Driver ICs with Sophisticated Functions and Reduces PCB Area Up to 50%

IR Introduces Fast and Rugged 1200V and 600V High Voltage Gate Driver ICs with Sophisticated Functions and Reduces PCB Area Up to 50%

International Rectifier, IR®(NYSE: IRF), a world leader in power management technology, today introduced a series of high voltage IGBT control ICs with a sophisticated set of protection functions. In addition to these advanced functions, these devices feature high noise immunity with up to 30% fewer components in half the footprint compared to discrete opto-coupler- or transformer-based solutions. The series consists of 1200V and 600V gate driver ICs and current sense interface ICs for a variety of applications including inverterized motor drives, general-purpose inverter circuits, switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

IR's integrated HVIC technology enables sophisticated protection and shrinks size compared to opto-coupler- or transformer-based discrete solutions.

“This new suite of gate driver and sensor ICs made with IR's high voltage IC technology enables small circuits with full protection, including ground fault protection, which was once available only in high-end systems. The new ICs blaze a new path for low-end industrial or servo drives as well as cost-competitive appliances,” said David Tam, Vice President of IR's Consumer and Industrial group.

Power stages using IGBTs or MOSFETs must be protected from failures such as short circuits, over-current conditions and ground faults. In addition to protection circuits, the fault conditions must be detected, or sensed, in order to enable the protection functions. IR's new line of driver ICs and sensor ICs fill this requirement, while reducing component count and simplifying circuits.