May 29, 2013, Seoul – Infineon Technologies (Korea Representative Director Seung-soo Lee) announced the launch of its next-generation high-voltage IGBT gate drivers. Designed for use in main inverters for hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs), the new EiceDRIVER™ SIL and EiceDRIVER™ Boost drivers enable automotive system manufacturers to easily and cost-effectively design HEV drivetrain subsystems compliant with the ASIL C/D Functional Safety standard (ISO 26262). The target applications for the new EiceDRIVER are HEV inverters up to 120 kW utilizing 400 V, 600 V, and 1200 V IGBTs. Early sample supply of the EiceDRIVER SIL and EiceDRIVER Boost has begun, with full-scale sample supply scheduled to start in December 2013.

The AECQ100 certified EiceDRIVER SIL (1EDI2001AS) and EiceDRIVER Boost (1EBN1001AE) provide the complete functionality required to drive and control IGBTs in automotive inverters. These products offer electrical isolation, bidirectional signal transmission, dynamic short-circuit support, and optimized IGBT switching. The chipset, implemented as two devices, can reduce PCB area by up to 20 percent compared to currently available solutions in HEV subsystems. In addition, the features implemented in EiceDRIVER SIL and EiceDRIVER Boost eliminate the need for up to 60 discrete parts required in currently available solutions, thereby reducing overall system costs.

"Mark Muenzer, Director of Electric Drivetrain at Infineon Technologies, said, 'As a world leader in advanced power semiconductors and automotive semiconductors, Infineon offers a comprehensive product portfolio for high-efficiency electric drivetrain applications that meet ASIL C/D design requirements. Infineon's electric vehicle solutions combine functional safety and economy to significantly reduce overall system costs while improving efficiency.'"

EiceDRIVER SIL and EiceDRIVER Boost
The EiceDRIVER SIL (1EDI2001AS) is a high-voltage IGBT gate driver designed for use in automotive motor drives up to 120 kW. The EiceDRIVER SIL utilizes Infineon's Coreless Transformer (CLT) technology and provides electrical isolation between the low-voltage and high-voltage regions. It offers a standard SPI interface for control and diagnostics and provides transmission speeds of up to 2 Mbaud. Furthermore, by integrating multiple safety-related functions, it enables system-level functional safety compliance. These functions include overcurrent monitoring and runtime monitoring of all power supplies, oscillators, gate signals, and output stages. Verification modes enable system-level diagnostics, including error injection and weak turn-on. On the high-voltage side, the EiceDRIVER SIL can drive an external booster stage. This driver IC is available in a PG-DSO-36 package.

The EiceDRIVER Boost (1EBN1001AE) is a single-channel IGBT booster fully compatible with the EiceDRIVER SIL. Based on high-performance bipolar technology, it replaces buffer stages utilizing discrete components. By using a thermally optimized package, the EiceDRIVER Boost can drive and sink peak currents of up to 15A. Therefore, it is suitable for use in inverter systems for automotive applications. This product supports dynamic short circuits and dynamic clamping. The EiceDRIVER Boost is available in an exposed-pad PG-DSO-14 package.

By using the EiceDRIVER SIL (1EDI2001AS) and EiceDRIVER Boost (1EBN1001AE) together with Infineon's HybridPACK™ IGBT module, an optimal system for hybrid and electric vehicles can be implemented.

supply
Early engineering samples of the EiceDRIVER SIL and EiceDRIVER Boost gate driver products are currently being supplied, and full-scale sample supply is scheduled to begin in December 2013. Mass production supply is scheduled to begin in late 2014.