Gate driver supports high-voltage EV batteries

Renesas Electronics Corp. has launched a new gate driver IC that is designed to drive high-voltage power devices such as IGBTs and silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs for electric vehicle (EV) inverters. To support the higher voltages of EV batteries, the RAJ2930004AGM features a built-in 3.75 kVrms (kV root mean square) isolator, which is higher than the 2.5 kVrms isolator in the previous generation product, and can support power devices with a withstand voltage of up to 1200 V.

How do gate drivers work? They provide “an interface between the inverter control microcontroller (MCU) and the IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs that deliver power to the inverter. They receive control signals from the MCU in the low-voltage domain and transfer these signals to rapidly turn power devices on and off in the high-voltage domain,” said Renesas.

(Source: Renesas Electronics)

The new driver IC claims superior common mode transient immunity (CMTI) performance at 150 V/ns (nanosecond) or higher, delivering increased noise immunity while meeting the high voltages and fast switching speeds required in inverter systems. Other features include an output peak current of 10 A and an operating temperature range of -40°C to 125°C. Protection/fault detection functions include on-chip active Miller clamp, soft turn-off, overcurrent protection, undervoltage lockout and fault feedback.

The gate driver IC can be used in other applications that use power semiconductors, such as on-board chargers and DC/DC converters.

The RAJ2930004AGM, housed in a small SOIC 16 package, can be used together with Renesas IGBTs as well as with IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs from other manufacturers. The gate driver IC is available in sample quantities with mass production scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.

Renesas offers the xEV Inverter Kit that combines gate driver ICs with MCUs, IGBTs, and power management ICs, and plans to release a version using the new gate driver IC in the first half of 2023.