February/March 2021

www.nexperia.com/RETs POWER SEMICONDUCTORS 25 www.power-mag.com Issue 1 2021 Power Electronics Europe Nexperia’s standard 50 V RETs are to be found in very many automotive applications. One typical application is converting from a low voltage, such as 3- 3.3 V for a microcontroller to the battery voltage of 12 V. Now, with the introduction of 80 V parts, they are suitable for 48 V e-vehicles and hybrid applications. RETs provide a simple way to switch and drive loads directly from logic devices. Some example circuits are shown in Figure 6. This has not been too challenging for RETs when the battery voltage V cc is 12 V. However, with the uptake in electric vehicles with a 48 V board net, much more headroom has become necessary. Nexperia’s 80 V RETs provide the safe operating margin required. There is another driver. Automotive customers are now demanding that devices meet pulse tests in accordance with ISO 7637-2:2011, the standard that defines robustness against transients along the power supply bus. At the behest of a major Tier 1 supplier to the EV industry, Nexperia’s 80 V RETs have been tested and withstand the required 20 V across base-emitter junction. This is vital for 24 V systems in trucks and lorries, and 48 V automotive systems. Conclusion Nexperia has many millions of RETs delivering safe, reliable and efficient switching in automotive and many other applications. The company’s new range of AEC-Q101-certified 80 V products has the performance, robustness and efficiency required to provide safe operation in 48 V board net e-mobility applications. With the move towards autonomous vehicles, reliable switching systems are going to be required in even more automotive applications. Figure 5: Switching characteristic of a RET Figure 6: Example application circuits Below Table 1: Dependency of the on- and off- state input voltages on the resistor divider configuration To receive your own copy of Power Electronics Europe subscribe today at: www.power-mag.com