Power IC debuts high side and low side smart switching solutions

Detailed introduction：

The continuous emergence of a large number of high - and low-side smart switch chips provides interesting alternatives for a variety of automotive and industrial use cases. In applications where high power loads need to be controlled, a common debate is whether to use a high side switch or a low side switch. While both have their advantages, the choice between the two usually depends on the specifics of the application and the priorities of the designer. But no matter what you choose, safety, reliability, and performance are the most important specifications. For this reason, companies have started to create more "smart" switching solutions that integrate safety and control functions into circuits.

Intelligent power switch ic is very important for controlling the drive of inductive load of motor and other equipment used in industrial control applications. (Photo courtesy of Toshiba)

Many of these smart switches are introduced by companies such as Rohm, Toshiba and STMicroelectronics. In this article, we'll look at each company's new products to understand the state of the industry and the exchange solutions available on the market.

Rohm's low side switch

Earlier Rohm Semiconductor announced a new generation of smart low-side switches for automotive and industrial applications. The new BV1LExxxEFJ-C and BM2LExxxFJ-C families are intelligent low-side devices that can switch current for any type of resistive, capacitive or inductive load. These products are considered "smart" because they are designed with integrated overtemperature, overcurrent and overvoltage protection, built-in diagnostic capabilities and microcontroller feedback. These products are considered "smart" because they are designed with integrated overtemperature, overcurrent and overvoltage protection, built-in diagnostic capabilities and microcontroller feedback.

BV1LE040EFJ-C block diagram (Photo courtesy of Rohm)

According to Rohm, these devices are also the first in the industry to combine thermal suppression with low ON resistance by optimally controlling the number of carrier channels using proprietary TDACC technology. Some important specifications of these devices are on-resistance ranges from 40 mΩ to 250 mΩ, with output currents up to 17.5 A.

Toshiba Toshiba's switching solution

Toshiba this week announced a pair of smart power switches for industrial applications. The new products are 8-channel high-side switch TPD2015FN and 8-channel low-side switch TPD2017FN. Both products utilize Toshiba's proprietary analog integration process, enabling them to achieve 400 mΩ output on-resistance, a 50% increase over previous products. Both devices offer 1.8W power specifications, internal current limiting, and protection in the form of heat and overcurrent shut-off features.

TPD2015FN block diagram (photo provided by Toshiba)

The switches are designed for industrial switching use cases and include inductive loads such as motors, solenoids and lights, according to Toshiba. To meet the demands of high-pressure industrial applications, each device operates at a maximum temperature of 110°C, 25°C higher than existing products. In addition, the device is packaged in SSOP30, which is much smaller than the previous generation of Toshiba switches.

Stmicro's auto-centric equipment

Finally, ST stmicroelectronics joined the party this week with the release of its own high-end drivers for automotive applications. The new lineup includes five single-channel drivers VN9004AJ, VN9006AJ, VN9008AJ, VN9012AJ, VN9016AJ, VN9016AJ, and four dual-channel drivers VND9008AJ, VND9012AJ, VND9016AJ, VND9025AJ, And two four-channel drivers VNQ9025AJ and VNQ9080AJ. Despite a large number of releases, each driver has the same features such as the PowerSSO-16 package style and on-chip protection features such as load current limit, load dump protection up to 35 V, and fast thermal transient limit.

VIPower M0-9 technology from stmicroelectronics (Photo courtesy of stmicroelectronics)

Stmicroelectronics said it designed the switches using its proprietary VIPower M0-9 technology. The VIPower chip's vertical architecture combines a vertical dual-diffusion MOS power device with its own integrated temperature and current sensors to control and protect automotive equipment. As a result, ST believes the new drive can meet the performance and reliability needs of automotive applications.

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