The 800V battery-electric vehicle (BEV) architecture is slowly but surely taking over the industry. That’s hardly surprising, as it offers faster charging while requiring less cooling. It’s more efficient, too, and 800V components can also be made smaller and lighter, lowering the overall weight of the vehicle.
This, of course, created higher demand for high-voltage power supplies, like Power Integrations’ new 1700 V InnoSwitch™3-AQ flyback switcher ICs. Designed specifically for 800 V battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), these new ICs offer a powerful mix of performance and practicality, wrapped in a space-saving package that meets strict automotive safety demands.
Power Integrations introduced five new reference designs. They range from 16 W to 120 W and cover key automotive needs: DC-DC bus conversion, inverter emergency power, battery management, and auxiliary system supplies. Each one uses Power Integrations’ high-voltage, CV/CC InnoSwitch3-AQ IC paired with the new wide-creepage InSOP™-28G package.
But what makes these switchers stand out? Notably, they enable 1000 VDC operation on the primary side and achieve a 5.1 mm drain-to-source creepage distance. That means safer operation in high-voltage environments — even without conformal coating. Of course, this leads to lower costs.
The heart of these designs is a 1700 V silicon carbide (SiC) primary switch. It’s efficient. It’s reliable. And it starts up with just 30 V on the drain pin — a crucial feature for functional safety in automotive systems. Power Integrations says its highly integrated approach reduces component count by up to 50%. That’s less sourcing hassle, smaller size, and improved system reliability.
Each of the five new designs tackles a specific use case:
- RDK-994Q: A 35 W ultra-low-profile supply for traction inverter gate drivers or emergency backup.
- RDK-1039Q: An 18 W option with a planar transformer.
- RDK-1054Q: A high-power 120 W supply designed to reduce or eliminate bulky 12 V batteries.
- DER-1030Q: A 20 W four-output supply combining emergency and gate-drive outputs.
- DER-1045Q: A 16 W version with four outputs, including split rails for gate drivers.
All designs feature output over-voltage, over-current, and under-voltage protection. Standby power draw? Less than 15 mW. Efficiency? Over 91%.
How would EV makers benefit from Power Integrations’ new switches? Well, the smaller power modules allow for higher packaging flexibility and a more robust product. Crucially, they should bring the 800V architecture to even more EVs, which could significantly benefit the industry.
