Isolated gate driver operates from 175 to 225°C

The gate driver utilises three integrated circuits: the HADES2P on the primary side, the HADES2S on the secondary, and the recently introduced quad-diode ELARA on the secondary. Both primary and secondary chips are available in a 32-pin ceramic QFP or a 44-pin plastic QFP.

The primary side IC embeds a current-mode fly-back controller with an integrated 0.8Ω, 80V switch, configurable non-overlapping and UVLO fault management. The HADES2P also includes a four-channel isolated signal transceiver for PWM and fault signals transmission to and from secondary side. 

The two secondary side ICs, one for the high side and one for the low side, include a 12A driver, UVLO, desaturation and over temperature protection fault detection circuits, as well as a two-channel isolated signal transceiver.

The HADES v2 chipset has been optimised to minimise the number and size of active and passive components to make possible its integration inside Intelligent Power Modules (IPMs). This integration, which will increase converter power density, enables reliable operation in temperature ranges of 100 to 175°C and 175 to 225°C.

The thermal robustness of the gate driver offers designers the freedom to locate the gate driver next to the power transistors, minimising parasitic inductances and allowing for fast switching and low switching losses. Reduced switching losses allow higher operating frequencies and result in a dramatic reduction of the size and weight of the capacitors and magnetic components. Furthermore, high operating temperatures reduce the cooling requirements and therefore the size and weight of the system.

An evaluation kit is also available, which demonstrates a half-bridge built on the HADES v2 gate driver and two CISSOID NEPTUNE SiC MOSFETs. The EVK-HADES2 kit includes a demonstration board with the half-bridge and the full documentation. The board measures 60x55mm.

Tony Denayer, CEO, CISSOID, said: “The HADES v2 is the result of three years of co-operation with system makers and end-users from various industries who have implemented all kinds of power converters: motor drives for industrial applications, auxiliary converters for railways, power generators for aerospace or battery chargers for HEV/EV vehicles. We collected feedback from these experts working with the first version of our HADES, the first isolated gate driver solution dedicated to SiC fast switching power devices, released in 2011.

“The HADES v2 is highly integrated and brings the robustness of CISSOID solutions as demonstrated over the last 15 years together with the requirements of system designers’ in terms of performances, functionality, reliability and cost. Not only for harsh environment applications, but also for larger volumes, cost sensitive applications where ambient temperature may not even exceed 100°C but where lifetime and maintenance costs are key differentiators,” adds Denayer.