IR7304SPBF

Power management integrated circuits (PMICs) are integrated circuit devices with embedded MCU cores, peripheral circuits and various power management circuits. They are widely used in embedded systems and can simplify the design of the system, reduce the design cost, and improve the performance of the system in terms of power consumption and system speed. Among PMICs, gate drivers are used to drive the gate of power semiconductor devices. The IR7304SPBF is a three-phase gate driver with independent, programmable high-side and low-side gate drivers in an 8-pin, very small plastic package. This article will discuss the application fields and working principles of the IR7304SPBF.

Application fields

The IR7304SPBF is suitable for applications with single and dual supply voltages or multi-level power converters, such as motor control, renewable energy, industrial and other power systems. As an independent gate driver, the IR7304SPBF can be used in applications where only two power switches, such as IGBTs and MOSFETs, are used in the motor drive system, or in applications with three power switches, such as ZVT, ZCT or ZPT. The device is designed to meet the requirements of voltage and current regulation of motors, as well as the detection, short-circuit protection and over-current protection control of batteries in renewable energy systems. The IR7304SPBF also provides continuous short-circuit protection, active anti-punch through protection, active cross-conduction protection, and very accurate dead time for soft switching and lossless commutation.

Working Principles

The IR7304SPBF is a programmable high-side and low-side gate driver. It has an input stage with pull-up, pull-down, dedicated gate drivers and fast gate drive circuitry. The integrated logic block supports various functions such as fast demagnetization and phase current sensing. An internal voltage reference is also integrated for setting phase current in a two-phase drive system. The IR7304SPBF uses an easy-to-use serial peripheral interface (SPI) for programming the various device functions such as switching time, predetermined dead time, overcurrent trip points and spike absorb current.

The device features a variable dead time (DT) feature, which allows the high and low gate signals to overlap and prevents short circuits. It also uses a low turn-on delay time (LDT) to reduce switching losses. A fast fault detection circuit is integrated to reduce the time to detect a short circuit fault. When the voltage difference of two terminals exceeds a certain threshold, the device is claimed to be overheating and will enter a shut-down mode. The device also has adjustable peak current limit and adjustable On-time range. The integrated diode protection circuitry provides an additional level of protection against accidental high current in overload applications.

The IR7304SPBF is also capable of hardware monitoring of the input enable/disable and output enable/disable signals. Moreover, the device has an advanced coarse offset adjustment that continuously adjusts the IGBT voltage thresholds to reduce switching losses. The device can also generate a power-on reset signal used by the customer to reset the customer’s MCU or other components.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the IR7304SPBF is a high-performance, feature-rich three-phase gate driver. It is suitable for applications with single and dual supply voltages or multi-level power converters, such as motor control, renewable energy, industrial and other power systems. The device provides continuous short-circuit protection, active anti-punch through protection, active cross-conduction protection, switchable dead time and current limiting features. Its internal voltage reference, integrated logic block and programmable SPI interface make it ideal for various motor control, renewable energy, industrial and other power applications.