Hot swap controllers allow boards to be inserted and removed from a live backplane

Analog Devices LTC4238 Hot Swap Controllers allow a board to be safely installed and removed from a live backplane. The controllers have a dual 12V gate drive supporting either share safe operating area over parallel MOSFETs or a two-stage start-up that first charges the load capacitance followed by providing a low on-resistance path to the load.

The controllers provide an ACL with two foldback options as VDS increases. The device offers both a constant power profile and a high-power profile. The constant power profile restricts the power dissipation to be no higher than a fixed value. The high-power profile enables the part to ride through large input steps throughout operation. The device informs when the output power is good. Also, the device supplies input undervoltage and overvoltage protection features, as well as generating a fault when there is an overcurrent or FET bad condition.

The hot swap controllers are available in 24-lead narrow SSOP and 24-pin 4mm x 5mm QFN packages.

Typical applications include live board insertion in 12V, 24V and 48V systems, industrial high side switch/circuit breaker, computers and servers, and vehicle electrical systems.