Complementing its extensive portfolio of discrete products and silicon carbide MOSFET modules, Microchip Technology Inc. today announced a new production-ready 1200V digital gate driver, providing system developers with multiple levels of control and protection for safe, reliable, and qualified operation according to demanding transportation requirements.
The Microchip AgileSwitch® 2ASC-12A2HP two-channel digital gate driver, designed for silicon carbide-based power converter designers, incorporates Augmented Switching™ technology, is production-ready, and fully configurable. To ensure reliable and safe operation, the 2ASC-12A2HP gate driver offers multiple levels of control and enhanced protection for silicon carbide MOSFET-based power systems. Compared to conventional gate drivers, key features of the AgileSwitch range include the ability to dampen drain-source voltage spikes (Vds) by up to 80% and reduce switching losses by up to 50%. The 2ASC-12A2HP digital gate driver can supply or absorb current spikes of up to 10A and incorporates an isolated DC/DC converter with a low-capacitance isolation barrier for pulse-width modulation signals and in case of failure.
The Microchip 2ASC-12A2HP gate driver is compatible with the latest version of the company's Intelligent Configuration Tool (ICT). This interface allows users to configure gate driver parameters such as gate switching profiles, monitor critical system elements, and adjust the driver interface.
The result is a gate driver specifically tailored to your applications without requiring any hardware changes. This helps accelerate development time from evaluation to production, allowing designers to modify control parameters during the design process. ICT, which is free to download, can save designers approximately three to six months in new design development time.
“The trend toward electrifying all vehicles, including buses, trains, trams, and agricultural vehicles, depends on innovative power electronics solutions that extract more productivity from less energy,” said Leon Gross, vice president of Microchip’s discrete products business unit. “When combined with our silicon carbide power devices, this gate driver technology enables engineers to achieve new levels of power density in transportation systems and industrial applications.”.
In addition to commercial vehicles, its applications include charging infrastructure, energy storage systems, solar inverters, and aircraft actuators.
Microchip's 2ASC-12A2HP gate driver is compatible with the company's extensive portfolio of silicon carbide power modules and devices, and can also work with silicon carbide products from other manufacturers. Combining the company's silicon carbide power modules and gate drivers allows designers to address dynamic challenges such as voltage spikes, switching losses, and electromagnetic interference. Microchip brings avalanche and short-circuit robustness to silicon carbide MOSFETs, along with complete solutions designed to streamline the entire process, from design to production.
Microchip's silicon carbide catalog is complemented by a wide range of microcontrollers and analog solutions that provide complete systems aimed at high-power applications.
Development Tools:
The AgileSwitch 2ASC-12A2HP digital gate driver features ICT support, including initial settings for many commercially available silicon carbide switches. The gate driver also supports a family of module adapters to help designers connect to different form factors, as well as the company's ASDAK (Augmented Switching Accelerated Development Kits), which include gate drivers, module adapter boards, a programming kit, and ICT software for silicon carbide MOSFET modules.
Availability:
The AgileSwitch 2ASC-12A2HP digital door driver is now available for production. To purchase this product, please visit our shopping portal or contact an authorized Microchip distributor. For more information, contact a Microchip sales representative or an authorized distributor, or visit the Microchip website.
