Power Electronics Europe April/May Issue 2022

12 INDUSTRY NEWS Issue 2 2022 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com time on other transducers was around 1.5 microseconds. For its customer, LEM was committed to providing a guaranteed response rate as fast as 200 nanoseconds. Not only was this target met but it was exceeded, with the new HOB and its pick-up coil offering 150 ns response time. In some instances, the response rate was as little as 100 ns. The models within the HOB family offer nominal currents of 50 A, 75 A, 100 A and 130 A, with currents at maximum power of 2.5 times those figures. The special (SP) models in the range are custom-designed to meet individual user specifications but all of them have a cut-off frequency (at -3dB) of above 1 MHz. The standard HOB family of transducers has a 5 V power supply (with voltage reference of 2.5) but other models have power supplies of 3.3 V, 3.4 V and 3.5 V. All are capable of operating in temperatures from -40°C to +105°C. Other features include galvanic separation between the primary and secondary circuit, an integrated busbar and an innovative design that enables space- saving THT (through hole technology) PCB mounting. The future for hybrid technology With a footprint the same as previous transducers on the market, the hybrid transducer is based on technology that LEM has provided successfully in the past for the automotive sector. However, thanks to its improved compactness and superior performance levels, LEM expects the technology to spread out into other domains as transistor production costs come down, automation increases and volumes rise. The future for this new hybrid technology is expected to be assured when the market grows for very low cost, excellent performance, high response time applications. Some of the extremely demanding applications include hand-held plasma cutters, welders and DC/DC converters, as well as the previously mentioned UPS market, switched mode power supplies, AC variable speed and servo motor drives, and static converters for DC motor drives. Already, LEM is receiving requests from customers for a PCB-mounted transducer offering nominal currents of 300 A, 600 A and more. While it is difficult to work out exactly how quickly demand will move, LEM has put itself in a position where it is now ready to provide a large number of markets with an open loop multi-range current sensor that combines unprecedented response times and frequency bandwidth with reliability, low power consumption, low noise and enhanced immunity to the dv/dt (acceleration) issues that SiC power modules can be prone to. www.lem.com To receive your own copy of Power Electronics Europe subscribe today at: www.power-mag.com