Saturday, February 06, 2010:
The growing popularity of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) is placing new emphasis on the need for battery management to monitor voltage levels and provide car makers with the means to reduce battery weight, size and cost. Because HEV batteries operate at high voltages of up to 600 V, isolation is required for safe and reliable operation. Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal-processing applications, is addressing these needs by expanding its portfolio of AEC-Q100 products with the introduction today of quad-channel digital isolators with integrated, isolated power.
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The new ADuM540xW family is designed using Analog Devices’ proprietary iCoupler chip-scale micro-transformer technology, which has been used in more than 300 million channels of isolation shipped into a wide array of applications including automotive, industrial, medical, power supply, and consumer systems. The new digital isolators incorporate ADI’s proprietary isoPower integrated, isolated dc-to-dc converter technology, which provides up to 500 mW of regulated, isolated power at 5-V output.
In an HEV application, this level of integrated isolation allows for power to be transferred across an isolation barrier ensuring monitoring of the battery without drawing from the battery’s power. The ADuM540xW devices are a better choice over discrete solutions, such as optocouplers paired with external dc-to-dc converters, because their small 10-mm x 10-mm surface mount packages reduce the component count of discrete solutions to a single component, reducing board space by up to 70 percent and cutting costs by as much as 50 percent.
“Advances in battery technology for hybrid/electric vehicles require isolated power technology with higher levels of integration, temperature resistance and a digital interface that eliminates the need for external signal conditioning,” said Bill Riedel, director automotive signal processing, Automotive Segment Group, Analog Devices. “ADI’s iCoupler digital isolators with isolated power are not only smaller, they reduce power consumption by 50 percent compared to optocoupler solutions, which helps car manufacturers build even more environmentally sound vehicles.”
Qualified for an AEC-Q100–40°C to +105°C automotive temperature rating, the ADuM540xW family is designed for HEV motor drives and battery management systems. The new AEC-Q100 isoPower isolators provide multiple isolation channels in a variety of channel configurations and supports data rates up to 25 Mbps. The CMOS-based ADuM540xW family operates with the supply voltage on either side ranging from 4.5 V to 5.5 V.
The ADuM540xW isoPower digital isolators are well suited to operate with other Analog Devices’ components, including AD7280 lithium-ion battery monitoring system and ADuM120xW, ADuM130xW and ADuM140xW digital isolators. To connect with a specialist, cross reference tools, and for more resources on how to use and obtain ADI products, please click here: http://www.analog.com/buy.
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