AEC-Q100 gate drivers for automotive applications

2nd May 2014

Nat Bowers

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AEC-Q100 qualified for automotive applications, Texas Instruments has claimed that the UCC275xx-Q1 family of single- and dual-channel gate drivers features the industry’s fastest propagation delays of less than 15ns. The ultra-low propagation delays in the gate drivers help automotive systems efficiently switch power electronics at high frequencies to maintain a small footprint and reduce overall vehicle weight.

The single- and dual-channel devices provide the highest power efficiency, reliability and flexibility compared to existing solutions for automotive applications including powertrain, bi-directional converters (12-48 and 12-400V input), onboard charging, traction inverters, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), safety, headlamps and instrumentation clusters. Demanding requirements to improve fuel efficiency mean automotive systems must shrink in size, lowering the overall weight of the vehicle.

With peak currents of 2.5-5A and propagation delays of less than 15ns, TI’s automotive output-stage drivers can replace discrete totem pole solutions. This cuts down board space, reduces system cost and enables the gate drivers to be placed closer to the switch, which cuts down parasitic inductances and improves efficiency. The wide temperature range from -40 to +140°C and negative input voltage of -5V enables handling of ground bouncing experienced in harsh environments.

The family supports an input volatge of 4.5-35V to drive wide bandgap switches, such as SiC, MOSFETs and IGBTs that are capable of withstanding high temperatures without compromising efficiency. Additionally, the inverting functions of the UCC27518A-Q1 and UCC27519A-Q1, and non-inverting functions of the UCC27531-Q1, UCC27517A-Q1, UCC27519A-Q1 and UCC27524A-Q1 add the flexibility needed to handle different types of inputs.

Designers can get started today on designing with the UCC27531-Q1 by ordering the UCC27531EVM-184 and UCC27532EVM-538 evaluation modules for $49.00 (USD) each. In addition to a PSpice model, two TINA-TI SPICE simulation models for the UCC27531-Q1 help simplify design. The UCC27532-Q1 has a POWERSTAGE-DESIGNER development tool.

Samples and production quantities are available now. The UCC27531-Q1 and UCC27532-Q1 single-channel gate drivers are available in a 6-pin SOT-23 package for $0.88 (USD). The UCC27517A-Q1, UCC27518A-Q1 and UCC27519A-Q1 single-channel gate drivers are available in a 5-pin SOT-23 package for $0.61 (USD) and the UCC27524A-Q1 dual-channel gate driver is available in an 8-pin MSOP-PowerPAD package for $1.00 (USD) (pricing in 1,000 unit quantities).