IXYS Announces High-Speed Gate Driver for Isolated Drive Applications with up to 4KV Applications in Power Conversion and Motor Control

June 23, 2016 | By Business Wire News

LEIDEN, Netherlands & MILPITAS, Calif.

IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS), a global manufacturer of power semiconductors and integrated circuits (ICs) for energy efficiency, power management, transportation, medical, and motor control applications, today announced a high-speed gate driver chipset that includes a logic interface (the IX6610) and a MOSFET/IGBT gate driver (the IX6611). The chipset is designed for pulse transformer isolated power conversion applications.

The IX6610 is a primary side logic device that implements a dual-channel bidirectional transformer interface to drive a secondary side gate driver. It is a TTL level microcontroller (MCU) interface that can transmit, through the isolation barrier, the primary side input commands, secondary side output faults, and power supply faults. With a built-in interlock and dead time control, the IX6610 can be utilized with an MCU to condition input signals and monitor system errors.

“This chipset, designed by our ICD team, is an updated version of our legendary ‘4410’ family of drivers that we introduced more than 20 years ago. We brought it back to life due to the need to provide a better driver solution for IGBTs and MOSFETs in power applications where full galvanic isolation is required. Our chipset is ideal to drive any of these power semiconductors in bridge configurations and in module form. We provide also reference designs for bridge drive applications, and offer an evaluation kit,” commented Dr. Nathan Zommer, Founder and CTO of IXYS.

Capable of sourcing and sinking a peak current of 10A, the IX6611 is a secondary side, intelligent, high-speed gate driver designed to drive both MOSFETs and IGBTs. It contains the necessary circuit blocks for pulse transformer isolated applications. High frequency, narrow pulses (as short as 500ns) are used for transmitting bidirectional signals across the isolation barrier to avoid duty cycle restrictions and prevent transformer saturation. Other features include supply under and over voltage lockout, thermal shutdown, overcurrent and over voltage protection.

The chipset provides +15V/-5V to the gates as well as +3.3V (at 50mA) to the microcontroller. It is optimized to drive medium-power half-bridge configurations and can support MOSFETs/IGBTs rated up to 4000V. Well suited applications include such isolated power conversion applications as AC and DC motor drives, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), inverters, high voltage DC/DC converters, etc.

The IX6610 is available in a 28-pin TSSOP with an exposed thermal pad (in tube or tape and reel) and the IX6611 in the 16-pin SOIC with an exposed thermal pad (in tube or tape and reel).

Additional product information can be obtained by visiting the IXYS website at http://www.ixys.com or by contacting the company directly.

About IXYS Corporation

IXYS Corporation makes and markets technology driven products to improve power conversion efficiency, generate solar and wind power, and provide efficient motor control for industrial applications. IXYS offers a diversified product base that addresses worldwide needs for power control, electrical efficiency, renewable energy, telecommunications, medical devices, electronic displays, and RF power.

Safe Harbor Statement

Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including the performance, rating, benefits, reliability, availability and suitability of products for various applications, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of IXYS to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.