Fast isolated gate driver for high-voltage applications

Texas Instruments has introduced a fast 5.7-kVRMS isolated dual-channel gate driver which they claim is the fastest in the industry. It is the first of a new gate-driver family in their isolation portfolio. The UCC21520’s flexible, universal compatibility enables its use as an isolated driver in low-side, high-side, high-side/low-side or half-bridge power management designs. With its integrated components, advanced protection features and optimised switching performance, the device enables designers to build smaller, more robust designs for enterprise, telecommunications, automotive and industrial applications. Developed for high-voltage applications where system protection and reliability are critical, the device provides reinforced isolation of 5.7kVRMS and surge immunity tested up to 12.8kV, along with common-mode transient immunity greater than 100V/ns. By delivering the fast propagation delay of 19ns and the tightest channel-to-channel delay matching of less than 5ns, the device enables high power density and efficiency, resulting in smaller solution size and reliable operation over end equipment lifetimes. Engineers can pair the isolated gate driver with a TI controller to optimise their system performance. Analog controllers include the UCC28950 for phase-shifted full bridge designs, the UCC25600 for resonant mode power supplies and the UCC28070 for power factor correction. Their digital power controllers include the UCD3138 and C2000 32-bit microcontroller.