2 February 2012

TI extends  family of GaN FET driver ICs with low-side gate driver

Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc (TI) has introduced a low-side gate driver for use with MOSFETs and gallium nitride (GaN) power field-effect transistors (FETs) in high-density power converters.

The new LM5114 drives GaN FETs and MOSFETs in low-side applications, such as synchronous rectifiers and power factor converters. Together with the LM5113 (the industry's first 100V half-bridge GaN FET driver, launched in 2011), the family provides a complete isolated DC/DC conversion driver solution for high-power GaN FETs and MOSFETs used in high-performance telecom, networking and data-center applications.

The LM5114 drives both standard MOSFETs and GaN FETs by using independent sink and source outputs from a 5V supply voltage (for optimized rise and fall times enable higher efficiency). It features a high 7.6A peak turn-off current capability needed in high-power applications where larger or paralleled FETs are used. The 7.6A/1.3A peak sink/source driver current maximizes change-in-voltage over change-in-time (DV/DT) immunity. The increased pull-down strength also enables it to drive GaN FETs properly. The independent source and sink outputs eliminate the need for a diode in the driver path and allows tight control of the rise and fall times. A typical propagation delay of 12ns enables high switching frequency while maintaining improved efficiency. Matching delay time between inverting and non-inverting inputs reduces dead time losses.

Key features of the LM5114 low-side gate driver include: a 0.23-Ohm open-drain, pull-down, sink output (preventing unintended turn-on); up to 14V logic inputs, regardless of VCC; and an operating temperature range of –40ºC to +125ºC.

The LM5114 is available in volume. Offered in a 6-pin SOT-23 package and 6-pin LLP package with exposed pad, the suggested retail price is $0.58 in 1000-unit quantities.

TI is showcasing its FET driver family (the LM5114, the LM5113 in a new micro SMD package, the pin-compatible 4A/8A UCC27511 low-side gate driver due for release in March, and other products that help unlock the full benefits of GaN FET technology) in booth 401 at the Applied Power Electronics Conference and Expo (APEC) in Orlando, FL (6-8 February).

Tags: Low-side gate driver GaN FETs MOSFETs

Visit: www.ti.com/lm5114-pr