TI unveils GaN IPM for appliances and HVAC systems
At PCIM Europe, Texas Instruments has introduced what it believes is the industry's first 650V three-phase GaN IPM for 250W motor drive applications.
Designed to address the compromises engineers face when designing major home appliances and HVAC systems, the DRV7308 GaN IPM enables more than 99 percent inverter efficiency, optimised acoustic performance, reduced solution size and lower system costs, according to the company.
"Designers of high-voltage home appliances and HVAC systems are striving to meet higher energy-efficiency standards to support environmental sustainability goals around the world," said Nicole Navinsky, Motor Drives business unit manager at TI. "They are also addressing consumer demand for systems that are reliable, quiet and compact. With TI's new GaN IPM, engineers can design motor driver systems that deliver all of these expectations and operates at peak efficiency."
Worldwide efficiency standards for appliances and HVAC systems such as SEER, MEPS, Energy Star and Top Runner are becoming increasingly stringent. TI says the DRV7308 helps engineers meet these standards, leveraging GaN technology to deliver more than 99 percent efficiency and improve thermal performance, with 50 percent reduced power losses compared to existing solutions.
In addition, the DRV7308 achieves low dead time and low propagation delay, both less than 200ns, enabling higher PWM switching frequencies that reduce audible noise and system vibration. These advantages plus the higher power efficiency and integrated features of the DRV7308 also reduce motor heating, which can improve reliability and extend the lifetime of the system.
The new IPM comes in a 12mm-by-12mm package, making it the industry's smallest IPM for 150W to 250W motor-drive applications. It also has no need for an external heatsink, resulting in motor drive inverter printed circuit board (PCB) size reduction of up to 55 percent compared to competing IPM solutions. The integration of a current sense amplifier, protection features and inverter stage further reduces solution size and cost, according to TI.
