Feature Editor’s Technology Review Driving the power evolution
New technologies targeting power efficiency and the increasing sophistication of power management systems are taking applications such as automotive to the brink of a new evolution, Michelle Winny, Editor of Electronicstakes a look across the industry to uncover some of the latest innovations
ower efficiency in automotive applications continues to be high on the design bill with much effort being invested into optimising performance capabilities. To achieve this, engineers are contin- ually looking to develop new and improved ways of making cars more power efficient. For example, ON Semiconductor has been focusing on automotive powertrain and in-cabin deployment; as a result the company has developed two new AEC Qualified ICs. Essentially, the company has released a non-synchronous boost controller that runs off a 2V to 44V input voltage and features automatic wake up and shutdown functions. The company claims, its NCV8876, is designed to supply a minimum output voltage during start-stop conditions, which is able to counteract any sag in the vehicle’s battery voltage. The com- pany advises this device is enabled when the supply voltage drops below 7.2V, then boost operation is initiated once this voltage goes under 6.8V, with the IC driving an external N-channel MOSFET.
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The second of these two new devices is a switching frequency dual
16 Figure 1:
The NCV896530 switching frequency dual channel step- down DC-DC converter from ON Semiconductor
channel step-down DC-DC converter. This device, which is its NCV896530 is typically suited to the more sophis- ticated driver assistance systems found in today’s vehicles. According to the company, to offer enhanced system efficiency synchronous rectifi- cation has been utilised to enable the device. Along with this, features such as integrated soft-start, cycle-by-cycle current limit and thermal shutdown protection have been integrated. System optimisation, particularly in automotive applications is complex and is growing increasingly sophisti- cated as intricate design structures are continually being used to achieve best performance. Current sensing is a prime example particularly in electric and hybrid cars. As these types of vehicle are becoming much more widely adopted the demand for cur- rent sensing solutions is growing. In response to this, Melexis has been developing its new high speed Linear Hall ICs, aimed at measuring DC and AC currents up to 200kHz.
The company advises, its MLX91209CA ICs features a strong thermal and lifetime stability that is capable of providing fully programma- ble critical characteristics. Parameters such as sensitivity and offset are stored in an internal EEPROM memory. Whilst calibration is achieved using the company’s PTC (Programming Through Connector) protocol. In addition, the company points out that, it is possible to modulate the supply voltage and that this device does not require any additional pins for programming, enabling efficient production flows. It adds that a linear analogue output permits use of the sensor in applications where a very fast response of 3µs is required.
Energy efficient ICs
Energy efficiency is vital to many applications and ICs are a good way of targeting this. For example a new intelligent power module has been developed by International Rectifier featuring Power Factor Correction and inverter stage that is claimed to help shrink and simplify design of energy-
efficient appliances and light industrial motordrive applications.
The company advises its IRAM630- 1562F combines its low loss, Trench IGBTs with a three-phase, high-voltage gate drive IC and PFC input stage, which neatly integrates more than 30 components in one package. In addi- tion to this, The company claims, built- in over-temperature/over-current protection, along with an integrated under-voltage lockout function, and built-in temperature monitor ensure a high level of protection; and contribute towards a fail-safe operation. The com- pany also highlights that other inte- grated features such as bootstrap diodes for the high-side drive function and single polarity power supply have been added to simplify the system design. In addition to this, Toshiba Electronics Europe has been working on delivering more devices in its family of 650V silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky Barrier Diodes (SBD). The company claims these devices come in response to analysts’ predictions of “significant growth” in the SiC power device market. These SBD are suited to applica- tions including power conditioners for photovoltaic power generation sys- tems. It is also claims that the SBDs are considered as an ideal replacement for silicon diodes in switching power sup- plies, where they are thought to be 50 percent more efficient. The company advises its SiC power devices offer more stable operation than current sili- con devices - even at high voltages and currents - as they significantly reduce heat dissipation during operation. They are presented as an ideal solu- tion for the industry’s needs for smaller, more effective communications devices and suit industrial applications ranging from servers to inverters and trains to automotive systems.
Knowledge is power
The proliferation of electronics to opti- mise power efficiency and create advanced power management systems is only going to become increasingly more sophisticated as new technolo- gies come to the fore. However this is essential to ensure that system per- formance runs at optimum capability. But there is much choice already laid at the disposal of the designer to achieve best system performance, so it becomes a case of knowledge is ‘power’ to ensure the right component is selected for the design requirement.
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2014 Electronics
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