Integrated half-bridge driver simplifies design of heating and cooling systems

The BridgeSwitch™ family of integrated half-bridges from Power Integrations dramatically simplifies the development and production of high-voltage, inverter-driven, one- or three-phase permanent magnet or brushless dc (BLDC) motor drives. 

The functions integrated in BridgeSwitch ICs include motor phase current (IPH) sensing, helping to boost the efficiency and improve the accuracy of motor control in systems with sensorless field-oriented control (FOC).

The BridgeSwitch devices incorporate two 600 V, N-channel power FREDFETs with low- and high-side drivers in a single, small-outline package. The internal power FETs feature ultra-soft and ultra-fast diodes which are ideally suited to hard-switched inverter drives. Both drivers are self-supplied, eliminating the need for an external auxiliary power supply. 

The half-bridges’ low-profile, surface-mount in SOP-24C package, which has a footprint of 10.8 mm x 9.4 mm, offers extended creepage distances. The package’s exposed pads allow for heat-sinking of both power FREDFETs through the PCB. 

Internal fault protection functions include a cycle-by-cycle current limit for both FREDFETs, and two-level thermal overload protection. External system-level monitoring includes dc bus sensing with four under-voltage levels and one over-voltage level. The IC can drive external sensors such as an NTC. The bi-directional bussed single-wire status interface reports observed status changes.