Discharge ICs meet mandatory IEC safety regulations

7th November 2013

Nat Bowers

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Power Integrations' new CAPZero automatic X-capacitor discharge IC has been certified to meet IEC CTL DSH 1080. This is the new mandatory addition to the Certification Body scheme of the IEC60950 and IEC60065 standards governing X-capacitor discharge safety regulations. Simple SO-8-packaged two-terminal devices, the CAPZero ICs only require discharge resistors to automatically implement the X-capacitor discharge function.

Ensuring that a power supply’s X-capacitor safety-discharge function remains operational over the life of the product, the IEC CTL DSH 1080 requirement is immediately mandatory for all new power supplies. To achieve certification, CB-certified X-capacitor discharge devices must pass stringent safety-testing protocols which include lengthy high-temperature and high-humidity testing and high voltage line-surge testing.

“Our power-saving CAPZero ICs make IEC compliance simple and quick, saving considerable cost and effort for designers seeking to meet emerging no-load and standby requirements. CAPZero devices can be positioned before or after the system input fuse and are suitable for a wide variety of power supply applications,” commented Edward Ong, product manager at Power Integrations.

Power supplies using a certified X-capacitor discharge device are deemed automatically compliant, however, any redesign would mean that re-certification of the power supply is necessary. Power supplies that do not utilise a CB-certified device (which includes discrete components or other non-certified ICs) need to meet the same stringent environmental tests as well as line-surge testing, with all protection devices such as varistors and bulk capacitors removed.