GaN Half-Bridge Drivers Tackle Motion Control in Consumer, Industrial Apps

STMicroelectronics’ STDRIVEG610 and STDRIVEG611 integrated half-bridge drivers give designers two approaches to managing gallium-nitride (GaN) devices in power-conversion and motion applications. The end result is greater efficiency, power density and ruggedness for consumer and industrial applications.

Best suited for power adapters, chargers, and power-factor-correction (PFC) circuits, the STDRIVEG610 addresses systems requiring an extremely fast 300-ns startup time. That’s an important parameter for converter topologies like LLC or ACF, ensuring accurate controlled turn-off intervals in burst mode.

Tailored for hard switching in motion-control applications, the STDRIVEG611 can save space and boost efficiency in drives for home appliances, pumps and compressors, industrial servo drives, and factory automation. It also offers protection features like high-side UVLO and smart shutdown for overcurrent conditions.

Both devices are suitable for hard- and soft-switching topologies with built-in interlocking to prevent cross conduction. To simplify the design, the devices integrate a high-side bootstrap diode as well as 6-V high- and low-side linear regulators with high current capability and short propagation delay matched to within 10 ns.

Each driver has a separate sink and source path, with 2.4-A/1.2-Ω sink and 1.0-A/3.7-Ω source parameters, for optimal driving. They also have a standby pin for power saving during inactive periods or burst mode as well as a separated power ground for Kelvin source driving or connecting a current shunt

Both half-bridge products are available now, priced at $1.56 for orders of 1,000 pieces. The EVLSTDRIVEG610Q and EVLSTDRIVEG611 evaluation boards are also available to help accelerate development.