This demo board can detect and interrupt fault currents in microseconds, making it 100–500 times faster than traditional mechanical solutions thanks to its high-voltage solid-state design. The rapid response time significantly reduces short-circuit current spikes from tens of kiloamperes to hundreds of amperes, thus preventing serious damage.
“The E-Fuse demo board is aimed at electric and hybrid vehicle designers, providing them with a SiC-based solution to accelerate their development process with a faster, more reliable method for protecting power electronics,” said Clayton Pillion, vice president of Microchip’s silicon carbide business unit. “The solid-state design of the electronic fuse eliminates concerns about the long-term reliability of electromechanical devices because they are not subject to degradation caused by mechanical shocks, electrical arcing, or contact bounce.”
Thanks to the E-Fuse demo board's reset function, designers can easily incorporate an electronic fuse into the vehicle without the limitations imposed by a maintenance-friendly design. This reduces design complexity and increases flexibility for improving the power system layout in electric and hybrid vehicles.
Manufacturers can accelerate the development of SiC-based auxiliary applications with the E-Fuse demo board by incorporating a Local Interconnect Network (LIN) communication interface. The LIN interface allows configuration of overcurrent response characteristics without requiring hardware modifications and also provides diagnostic reports.
The E-Fuse demo board leverages the unparalleled robustness and performance of Microchip's SiC MOSFET technology and Core Independent Peripherals (CIPs) in its PIC® microcontrollers with a LIN-based interface. The automotive-grade auxiliary components are notable for their low device count and greater reliability compared to a discrete design.
Microchip's SiC power solutions offer the broadest and most flexible portfolio of unpackaged, discrete, and custom power modules, diodes, and gate drivers. For more information on Microchip's SiC semiconductors, please visit our website.
Development Tools:
The E-Fuse demo board is supported by the MPLAB® X integrated development environment (IDE), enabling customers to quickly develop and debug software. The LIN serial analysis allows customers to send and receive serial messages between a PC and the E-Fuse demo board.
