An integrated high-voltage driver has been launched that can simplify and miniaturize the design of scanner products used in medical ultrasound inspection systems and industrial non-destructive inspection equipment.

STMicroelectronics (ST) announced on the 12th that it has launched the STHV200 ultrasound IC, which integrates a linear pulse driver with clamping, switching, and diagnostic circuits. This supports the △simplification of design, △miniaturization, and △reduction of bill of materials (BoM) cost of medical and industrial scanners.

Providing 3A linear and 2A pulse outputs, the STHV200 is typically suited for applications such as premium cart-type systems for medical ultrasound examinations, industrial non-destructive testing (NDT) equipment, and driving piezoelectric transducers.

The linear and pulse circuits each have dual channels and share the same high-voltage output node, giving users the flexibility to choose the output that best suits their application. The STHV200 can operate in pulsed wave for applications such as body tissue imaging, continuous wave for dynamic measurements such as blood flow, and elastic ultrasound for bowel status and tumor assessment.

Each linear driver is a non-inverting operational amplifier with four gain levels that can be programmed to adjust the output signal up to 180 Vpp. Optimized for low noise and harmonics, each channel operates up to 20 MHz at maximum gain setting and 25 MHz at minimum gain setting.

Both channels feature a diode-less output circuit design to minimize distortion, and dedicated circuitry enables fast turn-on and turn-off times to capture close-range images while minimizing glitch injection.

The Pulser Channel is a half-bridge driver with programmable saturation currents up to 2A for both high-side and low-side transistors. An SPI connection is provided for programming. It generates a wide range of output voltages up to 200Vpp, and the user can fine-tune the switching edges to optimize performance and power consumption in pulse, continuous, and elastic ultrasonic modes. A Real-to-Zero (RTZ) clamp circuit is also built-in, allowing the output node to be directly grounded.

In addition, the STHV200 integrates a protective freewheeling diode to clamp the recirculating current when an inductive load occurs, and an anti-memory circuit to discharge all internal nodes under clamped conditions.

Output short-circuit protection is also built in to prevent dangerous conditions in case of output pin short-circuiting. Internal global checks and automatic diagnostic functions are additionally provided to ensure safe operating conditions.

The STHV200 is currently in production in a 7 mm x 7 mm 48-pin QFN package.