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Allegro Micro Systems News
ALLEGRO MICROSYSTEMS INTRODUCES NEW ISOLATED GATE DRIVER IC
Allegro’s new isolated gate driver creates a single-package solution that drives GaN FETs with up to a 50% smaller footprint and a 40% efficiency improvement compared to competitor offerings.
Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. announced the launch of its new Power-Thru isolated gate driver (AHV85110). The first release in the Power-Thru product family delivers 2x the power density with a simpler and more efficient system design.
The global clean-energy movement requires power system designers in automotive and industrial markets to generate, store and use energy more efficiently. Wide-bandgap silicon-carbide (SiC) and gallium-nitride (GaN) field-effect transistors (FETs) offer clear efficiency benefits at the system level but often come with integration challenges.
A traditional gate driver implementation requires both an isolated gate driver and a separate isolated power supply. When assembled, connections between the driver, power source and FET can add unwanted noise and create pathways of electromagnetic interference (EMI) that can degrade performance. Mitigating these effects can create design complexity, adding time and cost to a project schedule as well as size and weight to a solution.
Allegro’s patent-protected, highly differentiated Power-Thru gate driver (AHV85110) gives engineers and designers access to new and efficient high-power isolated gate-driving technologies that provide multiple system-level benefits. The new gate driver is innovative and unique, combining traditionally separate components—the isolated gate driver and the isolated power supply—into a single, compact, robust package. A perfect example of “less is more,” Allegro’s platform minimizes EMI pathways and simplifies integration, resulting in faster time to market, efficiency gains, and production cost savings.
Compared to other solutions, Allegro’s differentiated Power-Thru technology enables engineers to:
- Provide more power, more efficiently, using 50% of the design footprint (PCB savings).
- Reduced bill of materials (BOM) count and production cost.
- Eliminate bootstrap circuits and isolated supplies while minimizing common-mode capacitance, which reduces EMI filter design efforts and improves overall efficiency.
- Provide a reliable, scalable design process across platforms by eliminating the need to fully redesign a power module when working with multiple GaN FET suppliers.
To learn more about the AHV85110 Power-Thru gate driver, visit: https://www.allegromicro.com/en/products/motor-drivers/gate-drivers/ahv85110
