Motor driver eliminates heatsinks, slashes software certification time and expense

Power Integrations has released its BridgeSwitch integrated half-bridge (IHB) motor driver IC family. BridgeSwitch ICs provide high and low-side advanced FREDFETs with integrated lossless current sensing, ending in inverter conversion efficiency of up to 98.5% in BLDC motor drive applications to 300W. Excellent efficiency along with the distributed thermal footprint offered by the IHB driver removes the requirement for a heatsink, lessening both system cost and weight. Integrated lossless current sensing, bus voltage sensing and system-level thermal sensing make this device family perfect for BLDC motors in home-appliance applications. The devices are aimed at refrigerator compressors, HVAC system fans and other residential and light commercial pumps, fans and blowers. The 600 V FREDFETs used in BridgeSwitch ICs incorporate fast, ultra-soft-recovery body-diodes. This drastically reduces losses during switching and reduces noise generation, which simplifies system-level EMC. The new high-voltage, self-powered, half-bridge motor driver ICs also feature built-in device protection and system monitoring and a robust single-wire status update interface which enables communication between the motor-microcontroller and up to three BridgeSwitch devices. Each BridgeSwitch device may be configured with different high- and low-side current limits, eliminating the need for the microcontroller and external circuitry to protect the system from open or shorted motor windings. Integrated loss-less current monitoring provides hardware-based motor fault protection, which simplifies the task of providing protection under motor-fault conditions to satisfy IEC60335-1 and IEC60730-1 requirements. Comments senior product marketing manager Cristian Ionescu-Catrina: “We have taken a fresh look at the challenges posed by the burgeoning BLDC market and ever-tightening energy-use regulations worldwide, and produced an innovative solution that saves energy and space while reducing the BOM. This eases compliance with safety standards, simplifies circuitry and reduces development time.”