New gate driver extends TI’s family of GaN FET driver ICs

2nd February 2012

ES Admin

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Texas Instruments Incorporated today introduced a low-side gate driver for use with MOSFETs and Gallium-Nitride (GaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) in high-density power converters. The new LM5114 drives GaN FETs and MOSFETs in low-side applications, such as synchronous rectifiers and power factor converters.

Together with the LM5113, the industry’s first 100-V half-bridge GaN FET driver announced in 2011, the family provides a complete isolated DC/DC conversion driver solution for high-power GaN FETs and MOSFETs used in high-performance telecom, networking and data center applications.

The LM5114 drives both standard MOSFETs and GaN FETs by using independent sink and source outputs from a 5-V supply voltage. It features a high 7.6-A peak turn-off current capability needed in high-power applications where larger or paralleled FETs are used. The increased pull-down strength also enables it to drive GaN FETs properly. The independent source and sink outputs eliminate the need for a diode in the driver path and allows tight control of the rise and fall times.

TI is showcasing its FET driver family -- the LM5114, the LM5113 in a new micro SMD package, the pin compatible 4-A/8-A UCC27511 low-side gate driver scheduled for release in March, and other products that help unlock the full benefits of GaN FET technology -- in booth #401 at the Applied Power Electronics Conference and Expo (APEC) in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 6-8. APEC is one of the industry’s leading conferences for practicing power electronics professionals.

Key features and benefits of the LM5114 low-side gate driver

• Independent source and sink outputs for optimized rise and fall times enable higher efficiency.

• +4-V to +12.6-V single power supply support a wide range of applications.

• 0.23-Ohm open-drain, pull-down, sink output prevents unintended turn-on.

• 7.6-A/1.3-A peak sink/source driver current maximizes change-in-voltage over change-in-time (DV/DT) immunity.

• Matching delay time between inverting and non-inverting inputs reduces dead time losses.

• 12-ns typical propagation delay enables high switching frequency while maintaining improved efficiency.

• Up to 14-V logic inputs, regardless of VCC.

• -40 degrees C to +125 degrees C operating temperature range.

Availability, packaging and pricing

The LM5114 is available in volume now from TI and its authorized distributors. Offered in a 6-pin SOT-23 package and 6-pin LLP package with exposed pad, the suggested retail price is $0.58 in 1,000-unit quantities.